"If the stroke is only on one side of the brain, a woman may have rehabilitation options that the man may have more trouble with because the woman may be able to perform tasks using the other side of her brain, which is used to being fired up," [Lauren Sergio] said.

"Does the patient say, 'I'm going to beat this sucker?' Or does he or she sense that they'll never get better? How do I take attitude and convert it into proteins and new stem cells and new recovery pathways in the brain? These are the million-dollar questions."

"The brains of males and females are different," he says, "So let's celebrate."