Table 2.

Clinical studies examining sex-specific responses in ischemic stroke.

Study	Male/Female Ratio	Mean Age	Comorbidities	Key Findings
Ross et al.¹⁰²	Males: 96 Females: 96	Males: 73.2 Females: 77.3	Males: Hypertension: 78 Diabetes: 39 Hyperlipidemia: 57 Smoking: 44 TIA/stroke: 38 Females: Hypertension: 83 Diabetes: 27 Hyperlipidemia: 58 Smoking: 28 TIA/stroke: 44	Significant age- and sex-based changes were seen in circulating lymphocytes and myeloid cells after stroke.
Xu et al.¹⁰³	Males: 10 Females: 10	Males: 60 Females: 60	Not reported	CCL20, ICAM1, and PTGS2 identified as sex specific targets in ischemic stroke patients. Males showed a CD8+ T cell response; females had a more monocytic response to stroke.
Zhu et al.¹⁰⁴	Males: 10 Females: 10	Males: 60.2 Females: 60.2	Not reported	IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, CXCL1, CXCL2, CXCL20, CCL4, ICAM1, and PTGS2 were linked to protective effects in female stroke patients and contributed to post-stroke immune and apoptotic sex differences.
Lasek-Bal et al.¹⁰⁵	Males: 63 Females: 75	Males: 70.4 Females: 75.4	Males: Hypertension: 59 Atrial Fibrillation: 21 Carotid Artery Stenosis: 7 Coronary Disease: 33 Diabetes: 23 Hemorrhagic Transformation: 2 Lipid Disorders: 21 Females: Hypertension: 68 Atrial Fibrillation: 23 Carotid Artery Stenosis: 7 Coronary Disease: 38 Diabetes: 26 Hemorrhagic Transformation: 3 Lipid Disorders: 23	Sex differences in WBC, platelet counts, CRP, S100B and IL-6 levels seen 24 hours after stroke.
Trott et al.¹⁰⁶	Males: 70 Females: 59	Males: 62 Females: 62	Not reported	A positive correlation was observed in WBC change and absolute NIHSS was seen in female ischemic stroke patients.
Aleksandrova et al.¹⁰⁷	Quartiles of FABP4 in plasma Q1 (7.8-10.2 ng/mL): Males: 37.1% Females: 62.9% Q2 (12.0-14.5 ng/mL): Males: 36.6% Females: 63.4% Q3 (15.3-19.5 ng/mL) Males: 36.8% Females: 63.2% Q4 (22.4-32.7 ng/mL) Males: 36.3% Females: 63.7%	Quartiles (Q) of FABP4 in plasma Q1 Males and Females: 560 Q2 Males and Females: 544 Q3 Males and Females: 544 Q4 Males and Females: 546	Quartiles (Q) of FABP4 in plasma Q1 Males and Females Physically active: 21.6% Self-reported Hypertension: 29.6% Current smoker: 25.9% Q2 Males and Females Physically active: 17.1% Self-reported Hypertension: 41.0% Current smoker: 20.4% Q3 Males and Females Physically active: 14.7% Self-reported Hypertension: 52.2% Current smoker: 18.9% Q4 Males and Females Physically active: 11.4% Self-reported Hypertension: 63.7% Current smoker: 16.7%	FABP4 and T2D were significantly associated with higher risk of stroke in males vs. females.
Åkerblom et al.¹⁰⁸	Quartiles (Q) of IL-18 in plasma Q1 (<180.0 ng/L): Males: 2,613 Females: 1,563 Q2 (180-237.0 ng/L) Males: 2,963 Females: 1,211 Q3 (237.0-311.0 ng/L) Males: 3,099 Females: 1019 Q4 (>311.0 ng/L) Males: 3,204 Females: 964	Quartiles (Q) of IL-18 in plasma Q1 Males and Females: 63 Q2 Males and Females: 62 Q3 Males and Females: 61 Q4 Males and Females: 61	Quartiles (Q) of IL-18 in plasma Q1 Males and Females Smoker: 1338 Hypertension: 2749 Dyslipidemia: 2018 Diabetes: 866 Q2 Males and Females Smoker: 1484 Hypertension: 2670 Dyslipidemia: 2030 Diabetes: 985 Q3 Males and Females Smoker: 1526 Hypertension: 2725 Dyslipidemia: 1917 Diabetes: 1045 Q4 Males and Females Smoker: 1561 Hypertension: 2734 Dyslipidemia: 1886 Diabetes: 1256	A positive correlation with circulating plasma levels of IL-18 in ACS men was an independent risk factor for ischemic stroke.
Stamova et al.¹⁰⁹	Vascular Risk Factor Controls: Males: 12 Females: 11 Embolic Stroke: Males: 12 Females: 11	Vascular Risk Factor Controls: Males: 56.8 Females: 59 Embolic Stroke: Males: 72.1 Females: 71.3	Vascular Risk Factor Controls: Hyperlipidemia: Males: 9 Females: 7 Hypertension: Males: 9 Females: 7 Diabetes: Males: 3 Females: 2 Atrial fibrillation: Males: 0 Females: 0 Cardioembolic Stroke: Hyperlipidemia: Males: 3 Females: 3 Hypertension: Males: 8 Females: 8 Diabetes: Males: 2 Females: 2 Atrial fibrillation: Males: 3 Females: 6	Female cardioembolic stroke patients had significantly more differentially expressed genes in the blood linked to cell death and cell-cell inflammatory signaling. Circulatory neutrophil-specific genes were identified as early as 3 hours in females with cardioembolic stroke.
Nguyen et al.¹¹⁰	Normal controls: Males: 15 Females: 8 Acute stroke: Males: 3 Females: 2 Liquefactive necrosis Males: 8 Females: 8 Encephalomalacia: Males: 2 Females: 7	Normal controls: Males and Females: 77.4 Acute stroke: Males and Females: 76.2 Liquefactive necrosis Males and Females: 86.8 Encephalomalacia: Males and Females: 79.8	Not reported	A wide array of sex-based cytokines and chemokines were identified within the infarct at the liquefactive stage of necrosis post-stroke.
Stamova et al.¹¹¹	Controls: Males: 41 Females: 68 Ischemic Stroke Males: 35 Females: 26	Controls: Males: 50.2 Females: 49 Ischemic Stroke Males: 67.1 Females: 67	Not reported	Distinct classes of X-chromosome genes were altered across male and female patients after stroke. Male-specific genes regulated pathways involved in cellular movement, development, cell-trafficking, and cell death while female-specific genes included post-translational modification, small-molecule biochemistry, and cell-cell signaling.
Tian et al.¹¹²	Controls: Males: 28 Females: 24 Ischemic stroke: Males: 27 Females: 24	Controls: Males: 60.3 Females: 60.6 Ischemic stroke: Males: 63.6 Females: 65.1	Controls: Hyperlipidemia: Males: 12 Females: 16 Hypertension: Males: 13 Females: 13 Diabetes: Males: 4 Females: 1 Ischemic stroke: Hyperlipidemia: Males: 10 Females: 6 Hypertension: Males: 17 Females: 9 Diabetes: Males: 6 Females: 5	Sex differences in gene patterns in the blood after ischemic stroke. These contributed to sexually dimorphic immune, inflammatory, and cell death responses after stroke.