Funding outcome

A cartoon from 1991 by Etta Hulme is an applicable introduction to this lay summary. A doctor, giving consultation to his female patient, says: 'We have studies of fruit flies, mice, hamsters, monkeys, and men with this condition but medical research using women as subjects just never occurred to anybody.' Despite accepted evidence of gender variances, over the last 20 years of cardiovascular research, comparatively little effort has been directed toward women's diseases and their potential cures. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has remained the leading cause of death in women worldwide and the underlying cause for the majority of women living with CVD is ischemic heart disease (IHD). In spite of being a main cause of death in all ages, IHD is the most detrimental diseased condition in aged female, due to age-related hormonal changes. However, hormone replacement therapies (HAT) have failed to improve survival following IHD in women. Although it has been more than 2 decades of growing awareness on the differences in IHD between men and women, IHD in women has been largely ignored by scientific communities and publications. Epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) are substances that are intrinsically produced from arachidonic acid and have been demonstrated to protect heart against IHD. Several studies have depicted that both the administration of EETs and inhibiting their degradation improves heart function following IHD. Recent preliminary data from out lab has identified that EETs improve survival in aged female mice following IHD, but not male mice. However, the exact mechanisms involved in EETs female-specific beneficial effects have remained elusive. Mitochondria are key organelles in heart cells, as they are the major producer of energy for contractile function. A number of studies proved that mitochondria are one of the first victims of IHD and preserving a healthy mitochondrial pool is an efficient therapeutic target. In this regard, we postulate that EETs improve the survival of aged female mice via protecting mitochondria following IHD. Since IHD discriminates between sexes, sex-specific studies are mandatory to increase the awareness of the medical community and answer key questions concerning strategies and treatment in women. This study is valuable as it sheds new light on the possible mechanisms involved in EETs protective effects in aged female subjects. After decades of focusing on HAT, this research focuses on a novel therapeutic option for women and tries to better define the processes that are unique in women.