Advanced Institute of Aging Science, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, 61186, Republic of Korea.
Department of Radiology, Chonnam National University Hospital, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, 61469, Republic of Korea.
Int J Impot Res. 2019 Nov;31(6):432-438. doi: 10.1038/s41443-019-0111-5. Epub 2019 Jan 24.
Cross-sex hormones in female-to-male (FtM) transsexuals play a crucial role in brain plasticity. Morphological study associated with white matter (WM) volume in postoperative FtM transsexuals receiving cross-sex hormones has not been published yet. This study was performed to discriminate the regional WM volume differences between postoperative FtM transsexuals and female controls using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and further to assess the correlations between regional volume variations and cross-sex hormones. WM volume was assessed in 12 postoperative FtM transsexuals receiving cross-sex hormones with 16 age-matched female controls. WM volume was processed using SPM8 software with diffeomorphic anatomical registration via an exponentiated Lie algebra (DARTEL) algorithm. Serum sex hormones, including estriol, free testosterone (free-T), estradiol, follicle-stimulating hormone, and luteinizing hormone were measured. Postoperative FtM transsexuals showed significantly (p < 0.05) larger WM volumes in the inferior parietal lobule, postcentral gyrus, and middle temporal gyrus compared with female controls. However, there were no brain areas with larger WM volume in female controls compared with FtM transsexuals. WM volumes of the inferior parietal lobule and middle temporal gyrus in FtM transsexuals were positively correlated with the levels of free-T. This study revealed WM volume change and its correlation with free-T level in postoperative FtM transsexuals. These findings will improve our understanding of the morphometric changes in FtM transsexuals under cross-sex hormone therapy.
跨性别激素在女性转男性（FtM）变性人中对大脑可塑性起着至关重要的作用。术后接受跨性别激素治疗的 FtM 变性人白质（WM）体积的形态学研究尚未发表。本研究旨在使用基于体素的形态测量学（VBM）来区分术后 FtM 变性人和女性对照之间的 WM 体积差异，并进一步评估区域体积变化与跨性别激素之间的相关性。使用 SPM8 软件，对 12 名接受跨性别激素治疗的术后 FtM 变性人和 16 名年龄匹配的女性对照者进行 WM 体积评估。WM 体积采用基于指数李代数的可变形解剖配准（DARTEL）算法进行处理。检测了包括雌三醇、游离睾酮（free-T）、雌二醇、卵泡刺激素和黄体生成素在内的血清性激素。与女性对照组相比，术后 FtM 变性人在下顶叶、中央后回和中颞叶的 WM 体积显著增大（p<0.05）。然而，在女性对照组中，没有 WM 体积增大的脑区。FtM 变性人的下顶叶和中颞叶 WM 体积与游离睾酮水平呈正相关。本研究揭示了术后 FtM 变性人 WM 体积的变化及其与游离睾酮水平的相关性。这些发现将提高我们对跨性别激素治疗下 FtM 变性人形态学变化的理解。
