The Effects of Testosterone on the Brain of Transgender Men

Transgender men (TM) experience an incongruence between the female sex assigned when they were born and their self-perceived male identity. Some TM seek for a gender affirming hormone treatment (GAHT) to induce a somatic transition from female to male through continuous administration of testosteron...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Zubiaurre Elorza, Leire, Cerdán, Sebastián, Uribe, Carme, Pérez Laso, Carmen, Marcos, Alberto, Rodríguez del Cerro, Ma Cruz, Fernandez, Rosa, Pásaro, Eduardo, Guillamon, Antonio
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de la UB
OAI Identifier:oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/184333
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/184333
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Anabolitzants
Transgèneres
Glutamina
Testosterona
Astròcits
Anabolic steroids
Transgender people
Glutamine
Testosterone
Astrocytes
Descripción
Sumario:Transgender men (TM) experience an incongruence between the female sex assigned when they were born and their self-perceived male identity. Some TM seek for a gender affirming hormone treatment (GAHT) to induce a somatic transition from female to male through continuous administration of testosterone. GAHT seems to be relatively safe. However, testosterone produces structural changes in the brain as detected by quantitative magnetic resonance imaging. Mainly, it induces an increase in cortical volume and thickness and subcortical structural volume probably due to the anabolic effects. Animal models, specifically developed to test the anabolic hypothesis, suggest that testosterone and estradiol, its aromatized metabolite, participate in the control of astrocyte water trafficking, thereby controlling brain volume.