It seems natural that women and men, partly different in anatomy and physiology, are the object of specific care when they fall ill. And yet, until the end of the 20th century, this was not the case. Silvia De Francia, clinical pharmacologist and researcher at the University of Turin as well as scientific popularizer on pharmacology and gender medicine, in her book “The medicine of differences. Stories of women, men and discrimination “ (Neos Edizioni 2020) offers scientific, historical and legal information and reflections on the long path towards equity of care. To reach it, in fact, there is still a lot to do.
«Sex is how we are born, gender is that much broader construct of attitudes, education and sociality that builds our person over the course of life; it is multifaceted considering the social, cultural, economic meanings but also the habitat – explains Dr. De Francia – Man, woman, gender fluid: it is necessary to take care and take charge considering all the variables ».
The need for a more attentive and gender-oriented medicine is sanctioned by Law 3/2018 “Delegation to the Government in the field of clinical trials of medicines as well as provisions for the reorganization of the health professions and for the health management of the Ministry of Health“, a law that guarantees for the first time in Italy that medicine is gender-oriented in all its applications at national level, both in the clinical trials of drugs (art. 1), and for the entire clinical course (art. 3). The decree is implemented in the Implementation Plan approved in 2019.
But are there any drugs for women?
“Trials are being carried out on women for new drugs, but the female model is always absent until the mid-1990s, therefore for drugs until 2000. To date, the Italian gender medicine plan requires parity, but the easier to handle because the same for life. Women’s ages, on the other hand, demand more attention due to the hormonal variation that accompanies it ”explains De Francia, who reminds us how“ in medicine and in treatment, gender differences must be emphasized. They must be broken down in the social sector (income, opportunities, etc,) but they must be considered in the treatment to avoid unwanted side effects or toxicity ».
Formalizing the inclusion of the concept of “gender” in medicine is an indispensable act to guarantee each person the best treatment because respecting the differences leads to the personalization of therapies.
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(CSV of Padua)
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