Abstract
Serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) are reduced in male-to-female transsexual persons (MtF) compared to male controls. It was hypothesized before that this might reflect either an involvement of BDNF in a biomechanism of transsexualism or to be the result of persistent social stress due to the condition. Here, we demonstrate that 12 month of cross-sex hormone treatment reduces serum BDNF levels in male-to-female transsexual persons independent of anthropometric measures. Participants were acquired through the European Network for the Investigation of Gender Incongruence (ENIGI). Reduced serum BDNF in MtF thus seems to be a result of hormonal treatment rather than a consequence or risk factor of transsexualism.
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