A study—the first of its kind in humans—in the journal Brain has found differences in how men and women experience neuropathic pain, which is persistent and comes from issues with the nervous system, rather than from physical damage to the body. Though the researchers said the evidence needs more study, the findings suggest that a new drug targeting the neuropeptide CGRP might be more effective for treating chronic pain in women, who significantly outweigh men among those who have chronic-pain conditions, including arthritis, fibromyalgia and migraines. (Wired, Brain)

Talking point: Chronic pain is the most common cause of long-term disability in the United States; 50 million people struggle with pain most days or every day. The study’s findings could disrupt the pharmaceutical industry and create a new market in women-targeted pain medication. There are no sex-specific pain medications because the testing for it typically doesn’t exist. Drugs are first tested on rats or mice; until three years ago, almost all of that testing was done on male animals. Thought clinical trials now include men and women, they often don’t report results by sex. Findings like these are a step for gender equity in medical treatment. However, they can still exclude those outside the traditional male-female gender binary.