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Women's Health Research Cluster @whrcluster.bsky.social · 23h

How do hormones shape mood across the menstrual cycle? 🧠
Join Dr. Tory Eisenlohr-Moul for our next Women’s Health Seminar on Oct 20, 9am PDT/12pm EDT!
💻 Register now: https://ow.ly/YvoK50X9fjh
#WomensHealthResearch #HormonesAndMood #WHSS

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Women's Health Research Cluster @whrcluster.bsky.social · 2d

Congratulations to Dr. Simone Vigod, Senior Scientist Women's College Hospital & the new Labatt Family Chair of Psychiatry University of Toronto 👏

Her research advances equity in women’s mental health and transforms access to evidence-based treatment.

Learn more: https://ow.ly/SbOn50X7K8E

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Women's Health Research Cluster @whrcluster.bsky.social · 7d

❌ Myth: Menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) is dangerous and increases the risk for various diseases.
✅ Truth: The risks and benefits depend on the type of MHT and when & how it is taken.

Learn more: womenshealthresearchcluster.com/learn/womens...

#MythBusting #WomensHealth #Menopause #HormoneTherapy

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Women's Health Research Cluster @whrcluster.bsky.social · 10d

Today, we honour the children who never returned home, Survivors of residential schools, and their families and communities.

The legacy of residential schools continues to shape health inequities - see our post to learn more!

#NDTR #TruthAndReconciliation #WomensHealthEquity

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Women's Health Research Cluster @whrcluster.bsky.social · 15d

Anxiety levels were similar across OC users and naturally cycling women, but anti-androgenic OC users showed lower inhibitory control 💊

These findings show that different OC components can influence mental health, and more research can help providers offer personalized contraceptive choices.

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Women's Health Research Cluster @whrcluster.bsky.social · 15d

New Publication Alert! 📣 How do #oralcontraceptives (OCs) impact #wellbeing? 🧠

Research led by Cluster member Melanie Kowalczyk from Uniwersytet SWPS examined #anxiety and inhibitory control in #oralcontraceptive users vs naturally cycling women.

📚 Read the full paper: doi.org/10.1080/2044...

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Women's Health Research Cluster @whrcluster.bsky.social · 17d

Housing Unit Takeovers (HUTs) exploit the vulnerabilities of women in supportive housing, often leading to unsafe & traumatic living conditions.

Read Nora’s story & what must change: ow.ly/TXGB50WZmQK
#WomensHealth #HousingJustice #GBV

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Women's Health Research Cluster @whrcluster.bsky.social · 17d

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Women's Health Research Cluster @whrcluster.bsky.social · 17d

Better science starts with equality ⚖️ This #GenderEqualityWeek, we are celebrating the achievements of women and gender-diverse people and continuing to push to close the gaps that remain 💪

We are on a mission to ensure science serves everyone 📢 Share this post & tag us to spread the word!

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Women's Health Research Cluster @whrcluster.bsky.social · 18d

Yesterday was #WorldAlzheimersDay! ⏳ Every 3 seconds, someone develops dementia - and 2 in 3 are women ⏳

Join us in our raising awareness and supporting research that prioritizes women to create a future of better brain health for everyone. 💜

#EndAlz #WomensHealth #AskAboutAlzheimers

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Women's Health Research Cluster @whrcluster.bsky.social · 22d

Did you miss the September 15 seminar on Sex, Anxiolytics and Psychosocial Stress with Dr. Holly Hunsberger? You can catch it on our YouTube channel! Learn more about the Alzheimer's disease exposome: youtu.be/o7KzfKxmZZs
#WomensHealth #WomensHealthResearch #WHSS

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Women's Health Research Cluster @whrcluster.bsky.social · 24d

Make sure you don't miss any of our #WHSS talks this year! They happen monthly and are virtual and FREE to attend 🙌

Check out our website for more information on the fantastic talks planned for 2025-2026 and to register: womenshealthresearchcluster.com/learn/womens...

Women's Health Seminar Series - Women's Health Research Cluster

womenshealthresearchcluster.com

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Women's Health Research Cluster @whrcluster.bsky.social · 24d

Some exciting future directions for Dr. Hunsberger's lab include exploring psilocybin as a novel therapeutic for Alzheimer's disease and the impacts of social isolation in aging on Alzheimer's pathology.

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Women's Health Research Cluster @whrcluster.bsky.social · 24d

Importantly, these differences were seen despite males and females showing similar impairments in fear memory retrieval after treatment. It is possible that there are sex differences in drug metabolism and/or differences in brain regions other than the hippocampus.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40604112/

Alprazolam induces anterograde amnesia for contextual fear memory and alters dorsoventral hippocampal neuronal ensembles in female mice - PubMed

Benzodiazepines (BZDs) are commonly prescribed anxiolytic drugs that act on GABAa receptors, and can result in anterograde amnesia, or the inability to form new memories. While BZDs have been used for...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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Women's Health Research Cluster @whrcluster.bsky.social · 24d

Alprazolam (Xanax, a BZD) increased neuronal ensemble and engram activation in the dorsal hippocampus and decreased retrieval cell activation in the ventral hippocampus - but only in female mice. This indicates a disrupted excitation/inhibition balance, which is essential for memory formation.

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Women's Health Research Cluster @whrcluster.bsky.social · 24d

Benzodiazepines (BZDs) are prescribed for anxiety. They are prescribed heavily in older populations and 2x more in women.

Abuse and prolonged use of BZDs have been linked to memory deficits, but it's unclear whether BZDs increase dementia risk - Dr. Hunsberger's group is studying this! 🧠

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Women's Health Research Cluster @whrcluster.bsky.social · 24d

They also found sex-specific brain-wide network changes in both control mice and in the AD mouse model. APP/PS1 male mice exhibited hyperexcitation in the brain compared to control mice at 6 months old - perhaps a similar pattern would emerge earlier in females.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39349155/

Sex-Specific Effects of Anxiety on Cognition and Activity-Dependent Neural Networks: Insights From (Female) Mice and (Wo)men - PubMed

While future studies are needed to understand whether anxiety is a predictor, a neuropsychiatric biomarker, or a comorbid symptom that occurs during disease onset, these results suggest that there are...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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Women's Health Research Cluster @whrcluster.bsky.social · 24d

Dr. Hunsberger is interested in understanding how biological sex and neuropsychiatric symptoms drive AD progression 🔍

In a recent paper, her group uses an AD mouse model (APP/PS1) and shows earlier anxiety-like behaviour and cognitive decline in females vs. control mice and male mice.

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Women's Health Research Cluster @whrcluster.bsky.social · 24d

Dr. Hunsberger investigates the #Alzheimer's exposome, which encompasses individual differences throughout #aging - it includes exogenous factors (e.g. environment), endogenous factors (e.g. genetics, pre-existing conditions, biology), and behavioural factors (e.g. #psychosocial stressors).

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Women's Health Research Cluster @whrcluster.bsky.social · 25d

We're gearing up for our first #WHSS of the 2025-2026 line up. Follow along for highlights from Dr. Holly Hunsberger's talk on "Sex, Anxiolytics, and Psychosocial Stress: Vulnerabilities to Aging and Alzheimer's disease" 🤩

Women's Health Research Cluster @whrcluster.bsky.social · Sep 8

How do sex, stress & anxiety shape risk for Alzheimer’s disease?

Join Dr. Holly Hunsberger on Sept 15 for our next #WHSS talk on vulnerabilities to aging & AD.

📅 Sept 15 | 12pm ET
💻 Free, virtual — register today: ow.ly/KR1150WJEny

#Alzheimers #Research #WomensHealth

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Women's Health Research Cluster @whrcluster.bsky.social · Sep 8

How do sex, stress & anxiety shape risk for Alzheimer’s disease?

Join Dr. Holly Hunsberger on Sept 15 for our next #WHSS talk on vulnerabilities to aging & AD.

📅 Sept 15 | 12pm ET
💻 Free, virtual — register today: ow.ly/KR1150WJEny

#Alzheimers #Research #WomensHealth

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Women's Health Research Cluster @whrcluster.bsky.social · Sep 5

Why is it harder for women to quit smoking?
Biological, behavioral & social factors, including ovarian hormones & menstrual cycle changes, play a role.

Read our latest blog: ow.ly/8zxY50WIfuu

#WomensHealth #SmokingCessation #AddictionResearch

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Women's Health Research Cluster @whrcluster.bsky.social · Sep 5

Sex, stress & anxiolytics: what do they mean for Alzheimer’s risk? 🧠
Join Dr. Holly Hunsberger for the next #WHSS talk!

📅 Sept 15, 9am PDT / 12pm EDT
💻 Free & virtual – register: ow.ly/Sp1f50WJE9K

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Women's Health Research Cluster @whrcluster.bsky.social · Sep 4

Calling all perinatal-mental-health champions!
Join us and @marcenortham in Toronto to map research priorities and spark new collaborations before #MONA2025
Register now: ow.ly/NyEj50Wxxfu
#PerinatalMentalHealth #WHRC #womenmind

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Women's Health Research Cluster @whrcluster.bsky.social · Sep 3

📢 Call for Abstracts!
Submit by Oct 1 to present in our Trainee Research Presentation Series:
💡 Hormonal Contraceptives: Insights from Across the Field

📅 Nov 14, 2025 | Hybrid (Toronto + online)
🔗 Details: ow.ly/KTq750WIenV

#WomensHealth #ResearchOpportunity

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