Functional Changes to Achilles Tendon and Enthesis in a Mouse Model of an Adolescent Masculine Gender-Affirming Hormone Treatment.

ABSTRACT: Many transgender youth seek gender affirming care, such as puberty suppression, to prolong decision-making and to align their physical sex characteristics with their gender identity. During peripubertal growth, connective tissues such as tendon rapidly adapt to applied mechanical loads (e.g., exercise) yet if and how tendon adaptation is influenced by sex and gender affirming hormone therapy during growth remains unknown. The goal of this study was to understand the how pubertal suppression influences the structural and functional properties of the Achilles tendon using an established mouse model of transmasculine gender affirming hormone therapy. C57BL/6N female-born mice were assigned to experimental groups to mimic gender-affirming hormone therapy in human adolescents, and treatment was

SUBMITTER: Hold LA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11195120 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature