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 initiated prior to the onset of puberty (at postnatal day 26, P26). Experimental groups included controls and mice serially treated with gonadotropin release hormone analogue (GnRHa), delayed Testosterone (T), or GnRHa followed by T. We found that puberty suppression using GnRHa, with and without T, improved the overall tendon load capacity in female-born mice. Treatment with T resulted in an increase in the maximum load that tendon can withstand before failure. Additionally, we found that GnRHa, but not T, treatment resulted in a significant increase in cell density at the Achilles enthesis.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Individuals with physical disabilities face many challenges, especially with mobility. Transportation plays a key role in an individual's health as it provides the access to critical services such as medical visits. Autonomous vehicles (AVs) can be one possible solution to increase transportation accessibility. However, there is currently limited information detailing the obstacles individuals with disabilities face when it comes to mobility, or research regarding perceptions of this population toward autonomous vehicles. OBJECTIVE: The goals of this study were twofold: 1) to identify the accessibility needs associated with transportation for individuals with a physical disability and 2) to understand the initial perceptions of this population towards autonomous vehicles to meet these needs. METHODS: A survey with multiple choice and short-answer questions was developed to gather data on transportation issues and experiences from individuals with physical disabilities. This survey was distributed to disability networks. RESULTS: Our results illustrate the many challenges that individuals with physical disabilities experience related to transportation, such as cost, time for planning, and convenience of use. We also found that individuals with physical disabilities had an overall positive attitude towards AVs and would be willing to pay the same price as private transportation or possibly more to use AVs if it had the proper accessibility and safety features. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, this work can be used to inform decisions surrounding accessibility of current transportation as well as guide the planning and design of autonomous vehicles for a population with physical disabilities.