In their experiment, Robert Clark and colleagues at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center took neurons from male and female rats and mice and grew them in lab dishes. They then starved them for 72 hours.
After 24 hours the cultured neurons from male animals showed more dysfunction (cell respiration dropped by 70% in male cells and 50% in female cells) and death than those from female animals.
When the researchers examined the cells under a microscope, they found that the male neurons showed more signs of autophagy, breaking themselves down into its components to be used as fuel. Female neurons, on the other hand, had created more lipid droplets to store fats.
The researchers acknowledged that this may not be exactly what happens in living organisms during starvation; however, it is important to carry out this type of research to exclude the effects of hormones.
