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NEW ORLEANS – Transgender men maintain their fertility potential even after one year of treatment with male hormone testosterone, according to a study to be presented Saturday at ENDO 2019, the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society in New Orleans, The.
"Our research shows for the first time that after one year of testosterone treatment, ovarian function is preserved to an extent that allows reproduction," said lead researcher Yona Greenman, MD , Deputy Director of the Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism of Tel Aviv-Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv, Israel. "This information is important for transgender men and their partners who want to have their own children."
Transgender men often choose to receive testosterone as a gender-affirming treatment. However, some transgender men may later want their own children through a surrogate or their own pregnancy.
"Because the long-term effects of testosterone treatment on fertility are unknown, the current recommendation is to stop testosterone at least three months before fertility treatments," said Greenman, who heads the fertility center. Transgender health from its medical center.
His research team studied 52 transgender men treated with testosterone for 12 months. Participants ranged in age from 17 to 40 and averaged 23 years. Seventeen participants were in a stable relationship and only four (7%) had already preserved their fertility by freezing their eggs. About two-thirds expressed the wish to have their own children (17%) or were not sure of parenthood (50%), Greenman said.
The researchers measured hormone levels in the blood and performed a pelvic ultrasound to measure ovarian factors reflecting fertility. Full data was available for 32 participants.
Even with the expected increase in testosterone blood levels and decreased estrogen after one year of treatment, participants exhibited anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) levels remained within the range of normal fertility, according to Greenman. The AMH is secreted by small ovarian follicles and its levels are used to evaluate the remaining egg stock, the ovarian reserve. Mean levels of AMH in this population only decreased slightly, from 5.65 nanograms per milliliter (ng / ml) before treatment to 4.89 ng / ml.
"This level probably indicates well-preserved ovarian function," Greenman said. Their hypothesis is corroborated, she added, by the unchanged antral follicular count of participants, also an indicator for estimating ovarian reserve.
"While it is necessary to study the effects of testosterone on other fertility parameters such as the quality of oocytes and in vitro fertilized embryos," said Mr. Greenman, these results are a new step in securing the fundamental rights of transgender people, such as reproduction. "
In participants, the thickness of the uterine lining, or endometrium, was also unchanged. This is important because a thick endometrium is essential to the implantation of an embryo and to a successful pregnancy, Greenman said.
An increasing percentage of the US adult population identifies as transgender: 0.6% in 2016 versus 0.3% in 2011, according to the Williams Institute of the UCLA School of Law.
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Endocrinologists are at the heart of solving the most pressing health problems of our time, from diabetes and obesity to infertility, bone health and hormone-related cancers. The Endocrine Society is the world's oldest and largest organization of scientists dedicated to hormone research and doctors who treat people with hormone-related disorders.
The Society has more than 18,000 members, including scientists, doctors, educators, nurses and students from 122 countries. To find out more about the Company and the field of endocrinology, visit our website at http://www.nrc.gov.on.ca.
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