ORWH: SCOR on Sex and Gender Factors Afecting Women's Health

描述（由申请人提供）：耶鲁大学女性健康分值的竞争性更新：性，压力和药物滥用药物使用障碍（SUDs）是具有破坏性心理，健康和社会后果的慢性复发性疾病。男性和女性对sud的易感性差异是众所周知的。从历史上看，男性滥用可卡因等疾病的流行率高于女性，但新出现的证据表明，少女使用和滥用可卡因等物质的可能性与青春期男孩一样或略高。压力是增加女孩和妇女易患sud的一个主要因素。我们目前的SCOR研究结果表明，女性更容易受到滥用药物的成瘾特性的影响，而早期创伤和应激神经生物学改变等压力标记在女性持续使用药物和复发周期中起着关键作用。在这个SCOR竞争性更新中，我们提出了转化研究，将系统地检查女孩和妇女中这种脆弱性增加的机制。请继续支持开展跨学科研究，以实现以下三个科学目标：(1)检查产前可卡因暴露（PCE）对影响发生sud风险的应激反应的神经和心理生物学影响的性别差异；(2)评估性别特异性因素在压力、药物寻求和可卡因易感性之间的关联作用；(3)通过咨询和研究支持建立科学合作，以增加地方、区域和国家研究人员对压力和药物滥用的性别影响的研究。这些目标将通过在动物和人类中进行的基础科学和临床研究来实现。更深入地了解这些相互作用将直接影响到制定针对不同性别的预防和治疗办法，从而提高吸毒妇女及其家人的健康。SCOR将实现以下具体目标：(1)开展一系列跨学科的转化性研究项目，研究跨生命周期压力与猝死之间的性别特异性效应；(2)扩大SCOR合作研究项目，利用SCOR核心科学资源，促进正在进行的与sud病因学、神经生物学和治疗相关的独立资助研究中的性别特异性因素的调查，包括其他机构的教师和研究；(3)通过指导、研究支持和科学咨询，协助耶鲁大学和其他机构不同学科的年轻研究人员开展针对压力和药物滥用的性别研究；(4)建立常见应激机制的scor间合作，研究影响妇女健康的应激相关障碍的生物和社会因素的异同。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Competitive Renewal of the Yale SCOR on Women Health: Sex, Stress and Substance Abuse Substance use disorders (SUDs) are chronic relapsing illnesses with devastating psychosocial, health and societal consequences. Differential susceptibility to SUDs in men and women is well known. Historically, prevalence of disorders such as cocaine abuse is higher in men than women, but emerging evidence indicates that adolescent girls are as likely or slightly more likely to use and abuse substances, such as cocaine, than adolescent boys. Stress is a major factor increasing the vulnerability to develop SUDs in girls and in women. Our current SCOR findings indicate that females are more vulnerable to the addictive properties of abusive drugs and that stress markers such as early trauma and altered stress neurobiology plays a pivotal role in the continued drug use and relapse cycle in women. In this SCOR competitive renewal, we propose translational research that will systematically examine mechanisms of such increased vulnerability in girls and in women. Continued support is requested to conduct interdisciplinary studies to address the following three scientific goals: (1) to examine sex differences in the neural and psychobiological effects of prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE) on stress responses affecting risk of developing SUDs; (2) to evaluate the effects of sex-specific factors in the association between stress, drug seeking and vulnerability to cocaine relapse; and (3) to build scientific collaborations through consultation and research support so as to increase the study of sex-specific effects on stress and drug abuse among investigators locally, regionally and nationally. These goals will be accomplished by means of basic science and clinical studies conducted in animals and in humans. A greater understanding of these interactions will directly affect the development of sex-specific prevention and treatment approaches that will enhance the health of addicted women and their families. The following specific aims will be achieved by the SCOR: (1) To conduct a series of translational research projects on the interdisciplinary study of sex-specific effects in the association between stress and SUDs across the lifespan; (2) To extend the SCOR collaborative research program utilizing SCOR core scientific resources to facilitate the investigation of sex-specific factors in ongoing independently-funded research relating to the etiology, neurobiology and treatment of SUDs that includes faculty and research at other institutions; (3) To assist a range of young investigators from different disciplines both at Yale and at other institutions in conducting sex-specific research on stress and drug abuse through mentorship, research support and scientific consultation; (4) To establish inter-SCOR collaborations on common stress mechanisms to study similarities and differences in biological and social factors that contribute to stress-related disorders affecting women's health.