Crucial Role of Hormone Therapy In Treating Transgender Adolescents Highlighted During National Endocrinology Congress
ORLANDO, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#25thAACE–While top-of-mind awareness about transgenderism has been on the rise —
due in large part to high-profile advocates such as actress Laverne Cox,
television personality/LGBTQ rights activist Jazz Jennings and former
Olympic decathlon champion Caitlyn Jenner — few outside a specialized
group within the medical community understand the profound and essential
role hormonal therapy plays in enabling the transgender person to
develop characteristics consistent with the gender with which they
identify.
That topic was the focus of two presentations today during the American
Association of Clinical Endocrinologists’ 25th Annual
Scientific & Clinical Congress in Orlando. Endocrinologists are highly
specialized physicians who treat patients with disorders of the
endocrine system and the system’s secretions, hormones.
Dr. Vin Tangpricha, Ph.D., F.A.C.E., who has been treating transgender
patients for more than 15 years, presented in-depth standards of care
for the evaluation, treatment and monitoring of transgender adolescents.
Once the patient has undergone the appropriate evaluation, including a
psychological assessment to identify if he/she is ready to undertake the
process of transitioning, the endocrinologist takes over the patient’s
medical care, introducing a safe, effective hormone regimen that is
two-fold, Tangpricha said.
First, medication is prescribed to suppress the pubertal hormones that
produce the unwanted physical characteristics of the patient’s sex
assigned at birth (natal sex). This reduces the need for later medical
procedures and enhances the quality of a future gender change. Hormone
suppression therapy is followed by the introduction of cross-sex
hormones, typically around the age of 16 or, in some cases, earlier, as
recommended in standards of care created by the World Professional
Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). At this age, the transgender
patient is generally firm in their identification with the gender
opposite the one they were assigned at birth, a critical factor since
many of the changes related to cross-sex hormone therapy can be
irreversible, Tangpricha noted.
“When I first began treating transgender persons with hormone therapy,
they typically presented in their 40s, especially transgender females,”
he said. “Today, I most often see patients who are younger and younger,
mostly in their teens.”
“Although the focus in earlier years was to treat those transgender
patients who were committed to surgically changing their biological sex,
today the emphasis is on patient-directed outcomes,” Tangpricha added.
“That makes the role of endocrinology and hormone treatment that much
more important.”
Joining Dr. Tangpricha on the speaker’s podium later in the day was Dr.
Stephen Rosenthal, Co-Director of the Disorders of Sex Development
Clinic at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) and founder
and Medical Director of the UCSF Child and Adolescent Gender Center, who
highlighted the medical approach to treating a transgender adolescent.
Dr. Tangpricha, Dr. Rosenthal and Jazz Jennings will be participating in
a press briefing on Saturday, May 28, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. For
more information, contact the AACE Public and Media Relations Department
at (904) 353-7878.
About the American Association of Clinical
Endocrinologists (AACE)
The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) represents
more than 7,000 endocrinologists in the United States and abroad. AACE
is the largest association of clinical endocrinologists in the world.
The majority of AACE members are certified in endocrinology, diabetes
and metabolism and concentrate on the treatment of patients with
endocrine and metabolic disorders including diabetes, thyroid disorders,
osteoporosis, growth hormone deficiency, cholesterol disorders,
hypertension and obesity. Visit our site at www.aace.com.
About the American College of Endocrinology
(ACE)
The American College of Endocrinology (ACE) is the educational and
scientific arm of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists
(AACE). ACE is the leader in advancing the care and prevention of
endocrine and metabolic disorders by: providing professional education
and reliable public health information; recognizing excellence in
education, research and service; promoting clinical research and
defining the future of Clinical Endocrinology. For more information,
visit www.aace.com/college.
IMPORTANT EDITOR’S NOTE:
All media who are planning on attending the Saturday, May 28th
Media Briefing with Jazz Jennings must agree to, and are required to
sign, the following security rider PIROR to the briefing in order to
attend.
Please take a few minutes to carefully review the rider. Signed
documents can be emailed to: mgreen@aace.com
or a hard copy delivered in advance of the briefing
to Mary Green in the Media Briefing Room, St. Johns 23, at the AACE 2th
Annual Scientific and Clinical Congress.
JENNINGS FAMILY RIDER
If there is intent to interview and/or photograph Jazz or any of the
Jennings Family members in conjunction with any broadcast and/or print
interview (newspaper, magazine, online), the media outlet and/or the
photographer agree to the following:
1. Media outlet agrees to not disclose the street name, street address,
or city where the Jennings Family resides. It can be referred as South
Florida, or Florida only. In addition, the media outlet agrees not to
disclose Jazz nor her siblings’ school name, street name, street address
or city where the school is located. The school can be referred to as
South Florida or Florida schools. In addition, the Family’s full legal
names shall not be disclosed to the public by the media outlet – each
member shall either be referred to by their first names only or by the
last name Jennings.
2. Media outlet has one year to use the interview for unlimited runs,
and only in connection with I AM JAZZ AND/OR BEING JAZZ: MY LIFE AS A
TRANSGENDER TEEN and/or the AACE 25th Annual Scientific and
Clinical Congress. Thereafter, they need to receive written consent from
the family (via TLC) to create any new content in any capacity.
3. The family reserves life rights to their story.
4. The Interviews and Materials will otherwise be restricted from
inclusion in any other reports, or on any non-affiliated outlet, unless
the family provides written permission (via TLC).
PHOTOGRAPHY
1. Any photographs taken or licensed for use can only be used in
connection with the article being written.
2. The photographs can only be distributed with the article to
affiliates of the media outlet.
3. No photos can be sold or distributed to non-affiliated parties
without the written consent of the Jennings Family.
4. Only published photographs can be used for portfolio purposes.
5. The Jennings Family will be given copies of all published photographs.
The family has no issue with the copyright to the photographs belonging
to either the photographer or the media outlet as long as the above
restrictions are adhered to.
If the media outlet and/or photographer consents to the above, the
Jennings Family will be happy to allow themselves to be interviewed and
photographed in support of the TLC series I AM JAZZ AND/OR BEING JAZZ:
MY LIFE AS A TRANSGENDER TEEN and/or the AACE 25th Annual
Scientific and Clinical Congress..
MEDIA OUTLET
Name,
Title:____________________________________________________________________________
Signature:______________________________________________________________________________
Date:__________________________________________________________________________________
Name,
Title:____________________________________________________________________________
Signature:______________________________________________________________________________
Date:__________________________________________________________________________________
Contacts
American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists
Mary
Green, 407-506-2960
mgreen@aace.com
