Safety of hormonal treatment in transgenders.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Discussion of short and long-term issues of cross-hormone treatment of transgender individuals in the light of recent literature. RECENT FINDINGS: Gender nonconformity has been depathologized and replaced by gender dysphoria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders version V.Safety of cross-sex hormone treatment is still a matter of debate, but the latest findings in literature are quite reassuring about short-term and long-term effects. No dramatic changes in recommendations for treatment have emerged in the past years, and for the most part, clinical work is based on Endocrine Society Clinical Guidelines published in 2009. SUMMARY: Most recent findings agreed on the importance of maintaining cross-sex hormone serum concentration within the physiological range, avoiding or limiting maximum peaks and troughs.Treatment must be highly individualized and transitioning patients need to be engaged in a 'clinical contract' with the physician in order to ensure compliance with prescribed treatments.Although overall mortality appears to be higher among transgender individuals, this in not attributed to hormonal treatment but to other causes mostly related to lifestyle habits

Ginecologia e Ostetricia

Testo elaborato come strumento di studio per gli studenti di medicina sugli argomenti che possono interessare il medico di medicina generale per inquadrare la salute della donna. La prima parte si concentra sul percorso riproduttivo-ginecologico, attraversando le varie età (pubertà, vita fertile e menopausa) e concentrando poi l'attenzione sull'oncologia ginecologica ( cervice endometrio, ovaio e vulva). La seconda parte del testo è dedicata sulla donna gravida ed alle conoscenze che il medico di medicina generale deve avere sempre presenti

Prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its components in women with and without pelvic organ prolapse and its association with prolapse severity according to the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification system.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Data regarding possible associations between metabolic syndrome (MS) and pelvic organ prolapse (POP) are scarce. The primary hypothesis was that the prevalence of MS and its components was higher in postmenopausal women with POP than in age-matched women without POP staged with the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification system (POP-Q). The secondary aim of the study was to analyze the association between MS and its components with POP severity. METHODS: Presence of MS and its components [elevated triglycerides (TG), waist circumference, blood pressure, and fasting glucose (FG) and decreased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C)] were assessed in 122 women with POP (POP-Q stage I-IV) and 77 without (POP-Q 0). Fasting insulin resistance [homeostasis model assessment for fasting insulin resistance (HOMA-IR)] was also assessed. RESULTS: TG levels, FG, and HOMA index were significantly higher in POP-Q stage I-IV compared with POP-Q 0 (p = 0.04, p = 0.0005 and p = 0.04); HDL-C was significantly reduced in POP-Q stage I-IV compared with POP-Q 0 (p = 0.0003). TG levels (p = 0.0315) were significantly higher in POP-Q stage III and IV vs. POP-Q 0; FG and HOMA-IR (p = 0.0015 and p = 0.0204) were significantly higher in POP-Q stage IV vs. POP-Q 0; HDL-C (p = 0.0047) was significantly lower in all stages vs. POP-Q 0. The prevalence of MS was different between groups (p = 0.04) and higher in POP-Q IV. Elevated TG [odds ratio (OR) 4.6, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.5-9.3, p = 0.004] and reduced HDL-C (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.1-3.7, p = 0.0241) significantly increased the risk of POP-Q stage ≥III. CONCLUSIONS: MS and its components may be associated with POP. Elevated TG and reduced HDL-C are associated with POP severity

Bone Mineral Density in Women Living with Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome and Intact Testes or Removed Gonads.

Complete androgen insensitivity syndrome (CAIS) is due to complete androgen resistance in androgen-dependent tissues. Since androgens are involved in growth, development, and mass maintenance of the skeleton, bone health may be a relevant clinical issue for improving quality of life of women living with CAIS. Bone mineral density (BMD) in women with CAIS and intact gonads has been reported in a normal range, although exceptions are known showing a low BMD mainly at the lumbar level. In women with CAIS and removed gonads, BMD is usually reduced at both the lumbar spine and femoral neck. However, the fracture risk remains largely unknown. In women with CAIS, hormonal replacement therapy may improve BMD, but it does not normalize it. Several factors may be operative (e.g., loss of AR signaling at the bone level, gonadal removal, and age at surgery [before or after attainment of the peak bone mass], inadequate sex steroid replacement therapy, poor compliance with hormonal treatment, high serum FSH levels, lack of testicular protein hormones after gonadal removal), but they are poorly evaluated. In conclusion, the maintenance of testes may represent a strategy to improve bone health in women with CAIS, but a strict follow-up to monitor the cancer risk is mandatory mainly from their 20s onwards. Optimal sex steroid substitutive therapy in adolescence and adulthood is a key factor to improve BMD status in women with CAIS and removed gonads, but conclusive data on optimal management are lacking

Menopause affects pain depending on pain type and characteristics

OBJECTIVE: Women are more affected than men by many chronic pain conditions, suggesting the effect of sex-related mechanisms in their occurrence. The role of gonadal hormones has been studied but with contrasting results depending on the pain syndrome, reproductive status, and hormone considered. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the pain changes related to the menopausal transition period. METHODS: In this observational study, postmenopausal women were asked to evaluate the presence of pain in their life during the premenopausal and postmenopausal periods and its modification with menopause. RESULTS: One hundred one women were enrolled and completed questionnaires on their sociodemographic status, pain characteristics, and evolution. The most common pain syndromes were headache (38%), osteoarticular pain (31%), and cervical/lumbar pain (21%). Pain was present before menopause in 66 women, ceased with menopause in 17, and started after menopause in 18. Data were used for cluster analysis, which allowed the division of participants into four groups. In the first, all women experienced headaches that disappeared or improved with menopause. The second group included osteoarticular pain; the pain improved in half of these women and remained stable in the other half. The third group had cervical/lumbar pain, which disappeared or improved with menopause in all. The fourth group presented different kinds of moderate pain, which worsened in all. CONCLUSIONS: The present study provides preliminary data suggesting that menopause can affect pain depending on the painful condition experienced by the woman. This underlines the different interactions of menopause-related events with body structures involved in pain

Opioid-induced hypogonadism: why and how to treat it.

BACKGROUND:Gonadal hormones are critical factors in modulating the experience of pain, as suggested by the several sex differences observed: women have a greater risk of many clinical pain conditions, and postoperative and procedural pain may be more severe in them than in men. A growing body of literature demonstrates the role of estrogen in the female pain experience, whereas less attention has been given to testosterone and its functions. Nevertheless, testosterone has an appreciable role in both women and men: adequate serum levels are required in males and females for libido and sexuality; cellular growth; maintenance of muscle mass and bone; healing; blood-brain barrier; and for central nervous system maintenance. Pain therapy, and particularly opioid therapy, has been shown to affect testosterone plasma levels. Thus, the chronic administration of pain killers, such as opioids, requires the physician to be aware of both the consequences that can develop due to long-term testosterone impairment and the available means to restore and maintain physiological testosterone levels. OBJECTIVE:The objective is to highlight to pain physicians that the endocrine changes occurring during chronic pain therapy can participate in the body dysfunctions often present in chronic pain patients and that there are possible hormone replacement methods that can be carried out in men and women to improve their quality of life. STUDY DESIGN: A comprehensive review of the literature. METHODS: A comprehensive review of the literature relating to opioid-induced hypogonadism, as well as other very common forms of hypogonadism, its endocrine effects, and possible therapeutic actions. The literature was collected from electronic and other sources. The reviewed literature included observational studies, case reports, systematic reviews, and guidelines. OUTCOME MEASURES:Evaluation of the endocrine changes described in chronic pain therapy was the primary outcome measure. The secondary outcome measures were functional improvement and adverse effects of hormone replacement. RESULTS:The results of the survey clearly show that sex hormone determination is very rare in pain centers. Given the complexity and widespread nature of pain therapy, there is a paucity of qualitative and quantitative literature regarding its endocrine consequences. The available evidence is weak for pain relief, but is consistent for many collateral effects, possibly deriving from pain therapy, such as fatigue, depression, and neurodegenerative diseases. LIMITATION: This is a narrative review without application of methodological quality assessment criteria. Even so, there is a paucity of literature concerning both controlled and observational literature for the endocrine effects of most analgesic drugs. CONCLUSION:Testosterone replacement suffers from old prejudices about its utility and safety. With this review we illustrate the available therapeutic choices able to maintain T concentration into physiological ranges and reduce nociception with a final goal of improving patients' quality of life

A novel circulating hormone of testis origin in humans

Insulin-like factor 3 (INSL3) is a member of the relaxin-insulin family, and it is expressed in pre- and postnatal Leydig cells of the testis. This peptide affects testicular descent during embryonic development, and mutations in INSL3 gene or its receptor LGR8 (leucine-rich repeat-containing G protein-coupled receptor 8)/GREAT (G protein-coupled receptor affecting testicular descent) cause cryptorchidism in humans. The expression of LGR8/GREAT in different tissues and the production of INSL3 also by adult-type Leydig cells suggest additional roles of this hormonal system in adulthood. In this preliminary report we performed the first analysis in humans of INSL3 using a novel RIA kit to measure INSL3 concentrations in serum of normal men and with different testicular pathologies. The results show that INSL3 is circulating in adult men, and it is almost exclusively of testicular origin. Subjects with severe testicular damage, such as men with severe infertility, produce low amount of INSL3, and the concentrations of this hormone seem to reflect the functional status of the Leydig cells. In particular, INSL3 concentrations may be an even more sensitive marker of Leydig cell function than testosterone itself. Analysis of men treated with different combinations of hormones of the hypothalamus-pituitary-testis axis suggests that the production of INSL3 is related to LH in a manner similar to that of the LH-testosterone axis