Hormone Therapy News

New track and field regulations from the International Association of Athletics Federations, or IAAF, due to take effect in November will require some female athletes with elevated testosterone levels to medically reduce their testosterone to compete in select events. The regulations specify that the threshold applies only to “relevant females” who have a disorder of sex development, as defined by the organization, testosterone levels of at least 5 nmol/L, and sufficient androgen sensitivity.

Among pubertal and prepubertal children with suspected growth hormone deficiency, the adrenergic agonist clonidine can accurately and safely diagnose the condition without steroid priming before the test, according to findings published in Clinical Endocrinology.

Among white men, serum estradiol exerts a “robust causal effect” on fracture risk, independent of age, BMI, smoking status and physical activity level, according to findings from a large Mendelian randomization analysis.

Normal testosterone ranges for adult women and men differ markedly with a bimodal distribution, with the lower limit of the male range approximately four- to fivefold higher vs. the upper limit of the female range, according to a literature review published in Clinical Endocrinology.

OB-GYNs and primary care physicians reported similar attitudes toward treatment for vulvar and vaginal atrophy, or VVA, including a low comfort level when prescribing treatment for the condition to women with a history of breast cancer, according to survey data published in Menopause.

In children born small for gestational age, treatment with combined growth hormone/gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue does not appear to have any adverse long-term effects on early adulthood cognition, health-related quality of life, self-perception or problem behavior, according to findings published in the Journal of Clinical Metabolism.height expectation benefit from treatment with growth hormone (GH) and additional gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue (GnRHa),” Wesley J. Goedegebuure, MD, doctoral candidate in the department of pediatrics, subdivision endocrinology, Erasmus University in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and colleagues wrote in the study’s background. “As both SGA birth and GnRHa-treatment might negatively influence cognition, [health-realted quality of life] and psychosocial functioning, we assessed these outcomes at adult height.”Researchers identified 99 young adults born small for gestational age who participated in a Dutch randomized, dose-response study of GH use in children born small for gestational age. Birth weight and/or birth length below -2 SDS for gestational age was considered small for gestational age. Participants initiated a GH treatment regimen at age 8 years or older and continued until they reached adult height. Among the cohort 61 had 2 additional years of GnRHa treatment added to their regimen (GnRHA group), and 38 received GH treatment only (GH group). GnRHA was given in cases where height at the beginning of puberty was expected to yield an adult height less than -2.5 SDS. Upon reaching puberty, participants were randomized to treatment with either GH 1 mg or 2 mg/m2 per day. These participants completed the Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale and TNO-AZL Adults Quality of Life questionnaires when they reached adult height.Researchers added 67 young adults born small for gestational age who participated in an interuterine growth restriction study. At age 5 to 8 years, these children began GH treatment; 19 participants received an additional 2 years of GnRHa. Upon reaching adult height, these participants completed the Self-Perception Profile of Adolescents and Child/Adolescent Behavior Checklist questionnaires.

A systematic review revealed a lack of well-designed, long-term studies examining an association between gender-affirming hormone therapy and an increased risk for hormone-dependent tumor development, despite the fact that HT is typically started at a young age and continues for life, according to data published in Clinical Endocrinology (Oxford).

The FDA today approved a Annovera, a combined hormonal contraceptive for women of reproductive age and the first vaginal ring contraceptive that can be used for an entire year, according to a press release from the agency.

In young transgender men, long-acting testosterone undecanoate and testosterone enanthate were equally effective and safe when administered for 5 years, according to research published in Clinical Endocrinology.

Women with complete androgen insensitivity syndrome randomly assigned to receive daily testosterone therapy for 6 months experienced a marked increase in sexual desire vs. women assigned daily estradiol therapy, with no between-group differences in measures of mental health-related quality of life and psychological wellbeing, according to study findings published in Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.