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Singing loudly, a cardinal sits atop a bare tree across the street from our house. His voice it's a male in courtship mode is almost strident, not exactly romantic sounding, but, I assume, effective.

From the backyard comes the soft tapping of a downy woodpecker. It's his "song," his call for a mate.

Both birds are fueled by a boost of testosterone. One day in the very recent past the amount of daylight reached a very specific critical peak governing springtime production of that hormone for these birds.

Ten hours seems to be the minimum day length needed to stimulate the breeding changes, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

The eye retina is presumed to send neural impulses to the brain that eventually stimulate the hypothalamus, an area of the brain producing hormones that control body temperature, heart rate, hunger, mood, and, not least, hormones from the pituitary to put the sex drive into spring mode.

Under the influence of those hormones, the testes begin their cyclical change, for production of sperm and production and release of testosterone, according to the Cornell Handbook of Bird Biology.

"In many birds, especially migratory species, the gonads vary tremendously in size and secretory activity on an annual cycle," the book states. "During the breeding season, for example, the testes of small passerines [songbirds] may grow to several hundred times their nonbreeding volume and weight.

The gonadal hormones testosterone and the estrogens also cause change to brighter, more colorful plumage; change in the color of the bill; an increase in song; aggressive behavior toward other birds, particularly of the same sex and species; the establishment of territory; pair formation; copulation; nest building; and, in most species, development of a brood patch.

Preparation for spring is then complete.

Later in the spring cycle, the birds begin another series of changes, eventually leading to nonbreeding status.

The pituitary releases a hormone that inhibits further secretion of the other gonadal hormones, Cornell explains. This retards the activity of the ovary and the testes. Reduction of these hormones reduces the behaviors initiated by them.

"By the time eggs appear, a secretion from the adrenal gland has stimulated incubation behavior," the handbook explains.

For birds such as pigeons and doves, the production of "pigeons milk" in the crop is activated. (Pigeon or crop milk is a secretion from the lining of the crop of parent birds that is regurgitated to young birds.)

Every bird species is physiologically adapted to a specific temperature range, Cornell explains. Significant change could affect the beginning of the breeding season.

There are other triggers. Rainfall, for example, can stimulate breeding in arid regions. For other species, availability of food is a nesting determinant.

A vole reproduction cycle at its peak will support large snowy owl broods. The owls might not breed at all when the vole population is low.

"An important breeding cycle stimulus for some species is the presence or absence of others of their species," the handbook explains.

A captive female rock dove, for instance, will lay eggs readily in the presence of a male, and less readily when only another female is present, Cornell explains.

Curiously, if isolated from others of her kind, the rock dove will not lay at all unless she has a mirror in her cage.

Lifelong birder Jim Williams can be reached at woodduck38@gmail.com.

Brood patch formation

The embryo, developing in the egg, requires constant heat. Because feathers are poor conductors of heat, most incubating birds develop one or more incubation or brood patches on the breast that are without feathers.

Heavily suffused with blood vessels, these patches permit direct contact between the warm skin and the eggs.

Hormones control development of the incubation patch.

Before the female lays her first egg, her patch begins to develop as follows: The bird loses feathers, the outer layers of the skin thicken, blood vessels in the region increase in number and some enlarge, and the spaces between the cells under the skin fill with tissue fluid, remaining full during the incubation period.

Most male birds that incubate also develop an incubation patch.

Information from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Handbook of Bird Biology.

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Longer days put birds in the mood - Star Tribune

On March 25, World Athletics, the governing body that regulates track and field, cross country running, road running, race walking, mountain running, and ultra running competitions at the international level, voted to completely ban transgender women athletes who have gone through male puberty from competing at international events.

The decision follows a wave of fair competition policies that were put into place after Lia Thomas, a swimmer for the University of Pennsylvania, became the first-known transgender woman to win a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) swimming championship. World Athletics joins World Aquatics and World Rugby as one of the several international organizations to ban transgender women athletes based on whether or not they have gone through male puberty, instead of blood testosterone levels.

The World Athletics decision reverses the previous policy that required transgender women to keep the amount of testosterone in their blood under the maximum of five nanomoles per litre, and stay under this threshold continuously for 12 months prior to competing in the female category. World Athletics claims that its preferred option was to continue to allow transgender women to compete in the female category while implementing more aggressive regulations for testosterone levels. But the proposition allegedly garnered little support from stakeholders, such as member federations, athletes, coaches, and the International Olympics Committee (IOC), as well as transgender and human rights groups.

World Athletics also elected to alter their policy for athletes with differences in sex development (DSD), a group of rare conditions involving genes, hormones, and reproductive organs resulting in different sex development trajectories, halving the maximum level of blood testosterone from five to 2.5 nanomoles per litre for womens competition. Those with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), in whom excess testosterone is common and typically exceeds this new cutoff, may also be barred from competition.

Many organizations that have elected to ban transgender athletes cite a study from the British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM) that concludes there is an association between the use of gender-affirming hormones and changes in athletic performance. The BJSM study suggests that more than 12 months of gender-affirming hormone usage is needed to ensure that transgender women do not have an unfair competitive advantage when participating in elite-level athletic competition.

However, some experts are critical of the studys conclusions due to sample size, narrow research questions, and misleading language.

It feels like our sort of Cirque du Soleil contortionist style stretch to say that thats enough evidence to sort of make that blanket statement, Dr. Lindsay Duncan, an associate professor in McGills Kinesiology and Physical Education Department, told The Tribune. They present the best evidence available [] to address a pretty specific research question with sport performance defined in a pretty specific, narrowly conceived way [.] Sport performance involves so many other factors [.] Theres a lot more going into it than that one pretty specific study could address.

Dr. Charlotte Usselman, an assistant professor in McGills Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education, is also concerned with the content of the research paper.

Given that some people were only assessed once after starting hormone therapy (and most were only assessed twice), we have no idea how many people are included in the 2+ year time point, Usselman wrote in an email to The Tribune.

[T]he authors interpret their findings to directly suggest that governing bodies for sporting competition should require more than [one] year of testosterone suppression prior to competition, Usselman continued. [T]hey did not present enough evidence to support this conclusion.

The BJSM study, along with the International Federation of Sports Medicine (FIMS)s 2021 Consensus Statementa study that concludes serum testosterone concentrations are an objective biomarker to regulate the inclusion of transgender athletesacknowledge the limitations of their respective research. Many of these limitations stem from the lack of sports performance data from athletes before, during, or after testosterone suppression, in addition to small sample sizes.

World Athletics claims the ban prioritizes fairness over inclusion, citing a potential competitive advantage for transgender women athletes competing in womens categories. These concerns of a competitive disadvantage for cisgender women athletes arise from the BJSM and FIMS studies that conclude transgender women retain physical advantages such as larger wingspan, increased lung capacity, and greater muscle mass, despite reducing their testosterone levels and taking gender affirming hormones. However, with no transgender athletes currently competing at the international level, many question the true prerogatives of the ban.

Bans on trans athletes are not primarily concerned with actual trans athletes, they are about stoking fear of trans women and presenting us as invading womens spaces, a member of the Trans Patient Union (TPU) wrote to The Tribune.

When trans people and transfeminine people in particular are banned from participating or stigmatized for participating in sports, the harm done is also about making it harder for us to participate in everyday life, wrote TPUs external affairs co-coordinator, who wished to stay anonymous. Like bathroom bills, athletic bans dont present trans people with a feasible new way to participate, its about pushing us out of everyday life altogether.

The restrictive nature of binary gender categories also excludes both transgender people who do not medically transition and those who dont fall into the category of male or female.

If legitimate concerns about fair play do come up, rather than dealing with such concerns by banning a transfeminine and intersex athlete for participating, we should mitigate relevant unfair physical advantages in ways analogous to the weight and age classes already used to ensure fair play, TPUs external affairs co-coordinator wrote. We should regulate relevant physical advantages, not gender identity.

Beyond the intricate nature of gender, the concept of fairness is complicated by the fact that the very structures of sport are fraught with inequities.

Most of our sports structures are not fair for trans and non binary people, forcing people into gender categories, forcing them into gendered spaces, Duncan said. Based on our data, if a trans athlete gets to the highest level of sport, from a character perspective, theyre a superhuman, because theyve been through a tremendous amount of unfairness before they can even get there.

Some argue that World Athletics should revert to its former testosterone policy approach, but even the use of testosterone levels as an indicator of competitive advantage is severely understudied.

In some sports, testosterone levels might be a reasonable predictor of performance and could signal a competitive advantage [but] in other sports thats not nearly enough, Duncan explained. I dont think that overall testosterone levels is an effective way to measure a competitive advantage. In most sports, we dont have any data that we could use to actually check that hypothesis.

Will Huckins, a masters student in McGills Department of Kinesiology, notes that dependence on testosterone runs contradictory to World Athletics own research.

[The World Athletics] head of health and science conducted research at the 2011 and 2013 World Championships which found that testosterone was only linked with improved performance in five of the 21 events they investigated (400-metre, 400-metre hurdles, 800-metre, hammer throw, and pole vault).

USPORTS, the governing body of most McGill varsity sports, currently has no restrictions for transgender athletes in competition. As for McGill Intramural sports, the open, mixed, and womens categories are inclusive of two-spirit, transgender, and gender-nonconforming peoples, and the policy encourages athletes to participate in the category that best aligns with their gender identity. However, as head coach of the artistic swimming team at McGill, Duncan believes that more needs to be done to ensure that athletic spaces are truly accepting of transgender athletes.

If were going to welcome trans athletes onto teams, I think we need to make sure that were prepared to offer a psychologically safe space, Duncan said. Change really comes from having discussions with other coaches, with other athletes, challenging the assumptions that we have and just raising questions.

Originally posted here:
Behind the bans on transgender women in sports - The Tribune - McGill Tribune

There are a few different reasons why a male may have low testosterone levels. Testosterone levels can decline with age, dropping about 1% per year after age 30. Some conditions can contribute to low testosterone too, according to Dr. Eisenberg, including an injury to the testicles or loss of a testicle, diabetes or obesity.

Some medications, specifically opioids, can also lower testosterone levels, he says, adding also, abusing steroids can cause the body to stop producing adequate levels of testosterone. And sometimes, males bodies simply do not produce enough testosterone.

There are some tell-tale signs that ones testosterone levels may be low. Someone with low testosterone may experience a decrease in energy, low sex drive and may experience erectile dysfunction, says Dr. Honig. However, he adds, the only way to know for sure if your testosterone levels are low is to see your doctor for a blood test.

Testosterone is highest in the morning, so typically the blood test is done early morning, explains Dr. Honig. If the blood test indicates low testosterone, the next step is working with your doctor to find out why. We want to figure out if its because the testicles arent producing as much as they used to or if its related to the brain, he says, adding that low testosterone could be a result of low levels of luteinizing hormone, which is produced by the pituitary gland in the brain. Further blood tests, an MRI and CAT scan can all be secondary steps to pinpointing why testosterone is low, he says.

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How To Increase Testosterone Forbes Health - Forbes

EDITORS NOTE: John Smith is a pseudonym given to an Emporia resident who spoke to The Gazette on the condition of anonymity.

John Smith knew he was a man most of his life.

He just didnt know how to put it into words. When Smith was around 17, he realized that he could apply the word transgender to how he felt, opening a new path to affirming his identity.

I played around with identities for a long time, Smith told The Gazette. Once I started figuring out that I was transgender, I wasnt really quite sure where I fell in the gender spectrum. I played around with nonbinary, gender fluid, but eventually I just kinda came to the realization that I was, in fact, a trans man.

Smith moved from his hometown to Emporia for college, taking a job at a local business and graduating from Emporia State University with his Masters degree last year. Around the same time, Smith slowly began to socially transition, sharing his identity with more and more of his friends and family, before feeling confident enough to come out publicly on Facebook.

At 25 years old, Smith is able to take the reins of his own journey to affirm his gender identity using hormone therapy. Smith is celebrating around four years on testosterone, a change he said started a journey towards feeling better about himself.

I would honestly count it as one of the top ten days of my life, he said. It was so important to me to start being able to get these more physical changes like my voice deepening and everything. Starting to get a more masculine appearance was just so deeply important to me because I felt like I wasnt gonna be able to be myself until I had these changes that were happening, that testosterone was able to give me.

For children under 18 in Kansas, that story could look very different.

Senate Bill 26, also known as the Kansas Child Mutilation Prevention Act would would allow an individual who had gender reassignment service performed as a child to bring a civil cause of action under the Act against the physician who performed such service, according to the language of the bill. It would also require the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts to revoke the medical license of a physician who provides gender-affirming care to minors.

Under the bill, care varying from surgeries to puberty blockers and hormone treatments would essentially be barred from transgender youth.

According to the American Academy Pediatrics, puberty blockers have been in use since the 1980s and are completely reversible if a child changes their mind.

These reversible treatments can also be used in adolescents who experience gender dysphoria to prevent development of secondary sex characteristics and provide time up until 16 years of age for the individual and the family to explore gender identity, access psychosocial supports, develop coping skills, and further define appropriate treatment goals, they said. If pubertal suppression treatment is suspended, then endogenous puberty will resume.

By utilizing pubertal suppression at a younger age, the AAP stated, trans youth may be able to avoid surgery later on and can help combat mental health issues.

[P]hysical changes that are otherwise irreversible (protrusion of the Adams apple, male pattern baldness, voice change, breast growth, etc) are prevented, they said. The available data reveal that pubertal suppression in children who identify as [transgender] generally leads to improved psychological functioning in adolescence and young adulthood.

Hormone therapy, including testosterone and estrogen therapies, can begin in early childhood and are partially reversible until development. The only fully non-reversible form of care, gender-affirming surgeries, rarely occur in youth.

Although current protocols typically reserve surgical interventions for adults, they are occasionally pursued during adolescence on a case-by-case basis, considering the necessity and benefit to the adolescents overall health and often including multidisciplinary input from medical, mental health, and surgical providers as well as from the adolescent and family, the AAP stated.

The Kansas legislature passed the Kansas Child Mutilation Prevention Act 23-12 in the Senate and 70-52 in the House on Thursday, April 6 without a hearing for public testimony, adding the gender-affirming care language to an unrelated bill. Gov. Laura Kelly is expected to veto the legislation and supporters would need the votes of 27 senators and 84 representatives to override it. At the time of publishing, the bill is set to commence on July 1.

Supporters of Senate Bill 233, the bill the Kansas Child Mutilation Prevention Acts language was derived from, stated during the bill hearing that children are too young to make a decision that could impact them for the rest of their lives.

We already have laws in Kansas based on the science that we know that childrens minds are developed enough to make decisions, John McDermott, pastor of Morning Star Church in Lawrence, said at the Feb. 14 hearing. We have drinking age at 21, you cant buy tobacco products at 18 or 21 it really is an exploitation of the vulnerabilities of children.

Two proponents of the bill also shared personal experiences with gender-affirming care and stated that they feel lingering negative effects after receiving surgeries in their youth and later changing their minds.

Opponents of the bill argued that medical decisions should be left to parents and their children and that the bill would cause unnecessary harm to Kansas youth.

D.C. Hiegert, a Skadden Fellow at the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas, said that the bill and ones similar to it, whether or not they pass, has a negative impact on trans youths mental health.

This makes sense imagine being a young trans kid in Kansas, having to read about and listen to your elected representatives argue that you should not be able to play sports, that you should not be able to access the healthcare you need to live, that you should not be able to exist at school or in public as yourself. The message this sends to young trans Kansans is that they are not welcome here, they said. Bills like SB 26, that would effectively ban all gender-affirming healthcare for any trans person under 18 in Kansas, would have catastrophic effects for young trans Kansans and their families. Gender-affirming healthcare is medically necessary, safe, effective, evidence-based care, and is the only medical care shown to improve trans youths mental health outcomes. It is live-saving healthcare, which is why countless major medical associations (like the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry) oppose bills like SB 26 and instead support access to gender-affirming care.

The process to gain access to gender-affirming care for Kansas youth can be extensive. For Smith, gender-affirming care only came after multiple visits to licensed professionals.

I had to see a therapist to determine that I was in a good state of mind to be able to consent to this kind of procedure and then once I got that letter from my therapist, it was sent on to an endocrinologist and my insurance had to say Yup, hes good, hes ready to go, Smith said. ... once I got that letter, I set up an appointment with an endocrinologist who did some blood work and then determined what dosage I should be at and how I should be getting my doses of T [testosterone] and everything and then from there I was put on T and then had blood work to check to make sure that everything was going okay from there on out.

Like many trans youth, living in a body that didnt match how he felt inside even while in the process of starting gender-affirming care led to gender dysphoria.

I had been dealing with gender dysphoria for a lot longer than I had ever realized. There was just sort of this disconnect between what people were viewing me as and how I was feeling about everything, Smith said. ... Nothing about the first puberty that I had was fun at all for me. There were so many changes happening to me that I did not like or want at all and then it just kept getting worse and worse until it finally clicked to me.

The gender-affirming care ban is just one of 13 anti-trans bills proposed this year alone in Kansas, and one of five that has passed in the legislature. Hiegert said anti-LGBTQ legislation is on the rise in Kansas and across the nation compared to previous legislative sessions.

For instance, there were just above 40 anti-LGBTQ+ bills filed across the country in 2018. As of April 2023, the ACLU is tracking more than 450 anti-LGBTQ+ bills filed this legislative session, they said. ... Kansans have made it clear that they want a state that is safe and welcoming for all, but legislators in our statehouse have decided they would rather score political points off the backs of an already vulnerable minority population of Kansans than address the issues that truly matter to folks in our state like expanding access to healthcare, fully funding public education, or addressing the economic struggles facing Kansas families experiencing rising inflation and soaring housing costs.

As for trans individuals in the state, Smith said concerns for safety and acceptance run deeper than they did even a few years ago.

I wouldnt feel safe coming out today, Smith said. I did five years ago, and I wouldnt now, and I dont know what that says but I think it says something.

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The right to exist: Emporia man shares experience with gender ... - Emporia Gazette

Shilajit, an Ayurvedic resin found in the Himalayan range, is known for its aphrodisiac properties but according to experts, what has yet to receive the limelight is its ability to offer a host of other health benefits that can help you maintain your fitness and wellness goals. Ayurveda experts insist that regular consumption of Shilajit can provide your body with essential minerals, vitamins, antioxidants and other nutrients that support your overall health and vitality.

Achieving the perfect fitness regime requires a combination of exercise and a balanced diet and identifying key ingredients that can boost physical performance is essential. In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Dr Kriti Soni, Head of R&D at Kapiva, shared, Shilajit, which has been used for centuries in Ayurvedic medicine as a rejuvenating and energising tonic, offers many health benefits that can support a fitness journey.

She highlighted the reasons why you should include Shilajit in your fitness regime:

Shilajit's efficacy as an energy booster in Ayurveda can be attributed to its high fulvic acid content, which is known to contain approximately 45% oxygen. During workouts, there is increased breathlessness and muscle soreness. However, the high oxygen content in fulvic acid may help alleviate these side effects of exercise. Research suggests that regular intake of fulvic acid can lead to a reduction in muscle soreness and an improvement in endurance.

2. Promotes protein and iron absorption

Another key benefit of Shilajit is its ability to promote better absorption of protein and iron. It is clinically proven that Shilajit can help with the absorption of protein and build muscle to boost energy levels. Iron deficiency is a common nutrient deficiency worldwide, and it can lead to anaemia and reduced physical performance. Shilajit is rich in iron, which is essential for forming red blood cells and carrying oxygen to the muscles during exercise. Consuming Shilajit before a workout can help maintain balanced energy levels and reduce muscle soreness and fatigue.

3. Boosts testosterone levels

Shilajit has the ability to boost testosterone levels in the body, making it an ideal supplement for those looking to enhance their workout sessions. Testosterone is a hormone that plays a crucial role in muscle development, bone density, and overall physical health in both men and women. In particular, testosterone levels are closely linked to muscle growth and strength, making it a critical component of any workout regimen. While synthetic steroids are commonly used to boost testosterone levels, they often come with a host of negative side effects, including liver damage, heart problems, and mood swings. Shilajit, on the other hand, is a natural and safe alternative that offers the same benefits without the harmful side effects.

4. Excellent Ayurvedic adaptogen

Shilajit is also considered an Ayurvedic adaptogen, which means that it helps the body respond to stress and restore balance. The effects of ayurvedic adaptogens vary from person to person, depending on their specific needs. Shilajit's ability to support mental focus, energy and stress reduction can be particularly beneficial for athletes and fitness enthusiasts.

5. Supports collagen production

Shilajit supports collagen production, which is essential for repairing bones and tendons and reducing swelling and pain. Collagen breakdown can be caused by factors such as smoking, ageing, excess sun exposure, anxiety, and stress. Consuming Shilajit before exercise can be a great addition to your workout routine as it has many benefits for recovery, strength, mental focus, energy, and stress reduction.

6. Rich in electrolytes

Shilajit's high mineral content makes it an excellent source of electrolytes, which are essential for regulating water balance, muscle contractions, nerve impulses, and metabolism. When we sweat during exercise, we lose these essential electrolytes, which can lead to muscle cramps, fatigue, and dehydration. Consuming Shilajit before a workout can help restore these electrolytes and support physical performance and endurance.

Dr Kriti Soni concluded, Consuming Shilajit before exercise can be a great addition to your fitness regime. Fitness enthusiasts have been consuming Shilajit for a long time. It is time for the masses to adopt the Himalayan Ayurvedic ingredient as a part of their routine and take the much-anticipated leap towards their fitness goals.

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Shilajit for fitness: Boosting testosterone to collagen, perks of Himalayan herb - Hindustan Times

Anything we eat has both positive and negative effects on our bodies. This is why, it's critical to comprehend which foods are best for our bodies and why. Just like our general health, our sexual health is important and is influenced by our diet. Many of you may not be aware that certain juices and foods might help to raise the body's testosterone levels, which make them a great fertility food. Try incorporating foods and juice that will benefit you if you want to amp up your sex life. This is a list of the top 5 juices to include in your diet each day to increase testosterone levels.

Also Read:Liver Health: 5 Healthy Drinks To Cleanse Your Liver Naturally

Who would have thought that fresh pomegranate juice can benefit the sexual health of an individual! Pomegranate boosts testosterone levels as it helps in facilitating nitric oxide production. The compounds that are found in the pomegranate juice increase a particular component which is responsible for creating nitric oxide. So adding fresh pomegranate juice will be beneficial for your sexual health.

We all know that pineapple is rich in vitamin C, which makes it the most exotic citrus fruit. Besides this, you'll be surprised to know that it's also rich in vitamin B, which makes it a good food option to increase sexual health. Incorporate fresh pineapple juice with a dash of fresh pepper mint in your daily diet.

Also Read:Milk, Chamomile Tea And More: 7 Healthy Drinks To Induce Good Night Sleep

Beetroot is full of vitamins and antioxidants. Apart from these, it is also rich in dietary nitrates that boost testosterone count. Having beetroot juice 2-3 times a week can increase your sexual health. To make this, put chopped beetroot in the juicer and separate the pulp. Add black pepper and salt in your beet juice to enhance taste.

Beet is rich in vitamin B9.Photo Credit: istock

Many of you might not be a big fan of oat milk, because it doesn't taste like our regular cow milk. But you'll definitely want to add it to your diet, if you want to boost testosterone level. Oats increase the testosterone available in your bloodstream, which makes it a good for increasing one's sexual health. Have fresh oat milk for your breakfast and have a fun sex life.

Green vegetables like spinach, broccoli and avocados are full of nutrition. These have testosterone-boosting properties, which will benefit your sexual health. Just make this green smoothie at home by blending in the above veggies with a cup of plain yogurt. Within 5 minutes, your smoothie will be ready.

Make fresh green smoothie at home.Photo Credit: istock

Almonds have aphrodisiac qualities, which is why it's also called a fertility food. Also, for years, men have been eating dates to enrich their sexual health. Combining both of these fertility foods will make one testosterone-boosting drink. Just add a handful or soaked almonds and dates to milk and combine in a blender. Mix it well and make a healthy smoothie at home.

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.

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6 Juices That Boost Testosterone - Add Them To Your Diet Today - NDTV Food

In the wake of a mass shooting at a Nashville elementary school by someone police have described as a transgender ex-student, in which three children aged nine and three adults died, some people have claimed that hormone-replacement therapy could have been a driving factor for the attack.

The shooter, named Audrey Elizabeth Hale, was said by Nashville Police Chief John Drake at a press conference to be transgender, but he didn't clarify which gender Hale identified as. In online profiles, Hale used he/him pronouns and also went by the name Aiden, the New York Post reported. It is also not known whether Hale had undergone hormone replacement therapy.

Nevertheless, Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican representative for the state of Georgia, tweeted a statement regarding the shooting, implying that the shooter's testosterone level was a reason for the shootings.

"How much hormones like testosterone and medications for mental illness was the transgender Nashville school shooter taking?" she tweeted. "Everyone can stop blaming guns now."

Journalist Andy Ng also suggested that the hormones may have contributed to the crime.

"Was the #Nashville trans mass shooter on cross-sex hormones (in this case, testosterone)? Women committing mass shootings are exceptionally rare, but if Audrey "Aiden" Hale took testosterone, it could explain part of the male-typical mass violence the Christian school tragically experienced," he tweeted.

But can the impact of hormones on a person's brain really cause them to commit violent or deadly acts? The evidence is unclear.

One study published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology in 2016 looked into how hormone therapy for transgender people affected subcortical brain areas related to memory and emotion. The study analyzed the MRI results of 25 Female-to-Male (FtM) and 14 Male-to-Female (MtF) transgender people both before they started hormone treatment and four months into the treatment.

The results found that the hormone treatment did result in some changes to the brain: in the MtF trans people involved in the study, their taking of estradiol (artificial estrogen) and anti-androgens (testosterone blockers) was found to have reduced the volume of the hippocampus region of the brain. The hippocampus is a small part of the brain that is involved in regulating learning, memory, and spatial navigation, and also plays a role in anxiety and avoidance behaviors.

Additionally, differing progesterone levels were found to be correlated with changes in gray matter structures in MtF subjects. No effects were found in the brains of the FtM individuals.

"Our findings are also relevant for women undergoing hormone-replacement therapy and those receiving oral contraceptive treatment," co-author Rupert Lanzenberger, a psychiatry professor at the Medical University of Vienna, said in a Nature Reviews Endocrinology article discussing the findings of the study. "As oestrogen plus progestin therapy increases the risk of dementia in postmenopausal women aged [over] 65 years, our findings of pronounced decreases in the hippocampal region in response to oestradiol and anti-androgen treatment support a neurobiological underpinning of this phenomenon."

However, this study only uses a very small sample size, which means that its results are not as statistically significant or sound as an experiment that used many more results. Additionally, changes to the gray matter and hippocampus can also be triggered by yoga and meditation, or periods of stress.

While Hale wasn't confirmed as a trans man, the use of he/him pronouns on social media suggests that Hale identified as a male.

"It's not about their identity. It's the questions or this is what kind of hormones are they on? What kind of medications are they taking for mental illness? What is causing this aggression in this biological female who identifies as a male for them to go in and murder children?," Greene told the Independent in an interview regarding her tweets.

"But these are important things. It's important because what will testosterone do to a biological woman? She's taking tons of testosterone trying to make herself look like a man."

These comments do not follow the science of the Nature Reviews Endocrinology study, as there is no mention of testosterone having any effect on the brain. Additionally, the brain changes mentioned in the study are in MtF people, taking estradiol and testosterone-blockers.

However, testosterone itself has long been known to cause increased aggression in men, with one study published in the International Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism in 2012 stating that there is some evidence that testosterone levels are higher in individuals with aggressive behavior, including violent criminals. Some other studies have found that trans men taking testosterone hormones may experience increased aggression, including a 2018 study from The Journal of Sexual Medicine and a 2021 study in Hormones and Behavior.

The Hormones and Behavior paper states that in one of three trans men taking testosterone ended up less aggressive during treatment, and that all groups had no changes in aggression at a one-year follow-up. Additionally, an article in the British Medical Journal Open published in 2020 found that aggression may increase during initiation of testosterone treatment, but will return to baseline during long-term testosterone treatment.

Overall, scientists agree that more research needs to be done to determine the relationship between aggression and testosterone for trans men.

Trans people are over four times more likely than cisgender [identifying as sex you were born as] people to experience violent victimization, including rape, sexual assault, and aggravated or simple assault, a study by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law found.

Biological women made up only around 3.6 percent of shootings in the U.S. between 2000 and 2017, according to the FBI, and while the data doesn't include people's gender identities, the Baltimore Sun reported in 2018 that it was "exceedingly uncommon for a transgender person to be the perpetrator of an active shooting."

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"Given how few women commit mass murder, it is even more rare for a woman planning to transition to be a man to commit mass murder. This might be the first," Laura Dugan, professor and associate chair of criminology and criminal justice at the University of Maryland, told the Baltimore Sun in 2018 in response to a mass shooting by a FtM trans man. "Keep in mind that thousands of transgender males take testosterone and do not mass murder anyone."

Some 45,222 people died from gun-related injuries in the U.S. in 2020, according to the Pew Research Center, a 14 percent rise from 2019, a 25 percent increase from 2015, and a 43 percent spike from 2010.

Data from the The Gun Violence Archive shows that 513 people died from mass shootings in 2020 alone, which are defined as incidents involving at least four people being shot. Between 2011 and 2020, there were 160 mass shootings in the U.S., compared to a mere 12 between 1966 and 1975, according to the Rockefeller Institute of Government.

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How Transgender Hormone Therapy Affects the Brain - Newsweek

Rowan Fee

This story is part of our annual Fit At Any Age seriesa guide to the innovations and breakthroughs in aging to help you live a stronger, longer life.

FOR A LONG TIME, we accepted certain changes as the price (and privilege) of getting older. Your hair turns gray. Your hearing starts towait, what was that you said? And, of course, your testosterone level drops. But with a boom in testosterone-replacement clinicsby this point, who hasnt gotten an ad for a service offering to test your T for under $100?and podcasts and influencers preaching the powers of hormone optimization, should guys over 40 think about winding back their T clocks? And by how much? Heres what to know.

A shortage of testosterone is associated with a shorter life. We now have several decades of high-quality research showing remarkable longevity and health benefits in men with normal testosterone levels compared with men with low levels, says Abraham Morgentaler, M.D., at Harvard Medical School and the author of Testosterone for Life. Thats true whether guys have healthy levels naturally or underwent testosterone-replacement therapy to bring their levels out of the low range.

Feeling young and alive often boils down to a few things, says Dr. Morgentaler: being strong, staying active, and having the energy to do the activities you enjoy. Men with low T often lose many of those things; people say they feel old, he adds. Not only do men feel better with normal testosterone levels, but for a whole variety of general medical and health issues, they actually are better. That means improvements in sexual function, physical function, and mood, according to a major study in The New England Journal of Medicine in 2016.

A mans testosterone level drops about 1 to 2 percent a year, starting around age 40. Docs generally dont prescribe T replacement unless a guys level is low (less than 300 ng/dL) and he has symptoms of testosterone deficiency: reduced libido, erectile dysfunction, fatigue, lack of motivation, insomnia, depression, reduced muscle mass, and weight gain.

Yet even without symptoms, men are clamoring to replace that age-related loss, because why wouldnt you want your level to be the same at 60 as it was at 30? Bradley Anawalt, M.D., a professor of medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine, echoes the reasoning of other top testosterone researchers when he says, The simple answer is that we do not know if it is beneficial or harmful to give testosterone to a man whose concentration drops with aging. If your T level is in the gigantic normal range (264 to 916 ng/dL) and youre not experiencing any low-T symptoms, its hard to argue that you need more of it.

Theres what I call a threshold effect. Once youre above it, youre just normal; its hard to be more normal than normal, says Dr. Morgentaler. For the most part, somebody who has normal testosterone levels will not notice anything if he takes some testosterone and goes into the upper range. Or as Dr. Anawalt puts it, The difference between a level of 450 or 445 is clinically nonsense. From day to day, you can have a variation of about 10 to 20 percent, and within the day, you can have a variation of about 5 to 35 percent. So wanting to correct for that 1 to 2 percent a year is understandable, but top researchers arent willing to encourage you to go for it yet.

Its true that you lose muscle fibers as you get older. While testosterone increases muscle strength and mass, hormone replacement might not be able to prevent muscle-fiber loss. It just makes the muscle fibers that remain bigger, says Dr. Anawalt, and its not certain that this has age-reversing benefits. But if you have a deficiency, T therapy can restore vitality and may help motivate you to do the workouts that will build muscle strength and mass.

Beware anyone telling you that you, at 30, 40, 50, or even 60, have the testosterone level of a 70-year-old. There is a giant reference range regardless of age, so at 70, normal remains within a 650-point span. If you take 10,000 men who are 20 years old, the average testosterone might be 550 or 500, says Dr. Anawalt. The average testosterone in 10,000 70-year-olds might be 380 or 400. But theyre both in the normal range. It doesnt mean you have the testosterone of a 70-year-old when you have a testosterone of 400 at age 20. You have a normal level for both ages.

Theres a movement by influencers and early adopters to stack up your level against yourself, not against other people your age. They advocate getting a baseline testosterone test early in life (or now, if you didnt do it in your 20s or 30s), so you can see how your levels compare later on. The test fee may or may not turn out to be a good investment. If you do choose to get one, be aware that all testosterone tests arent equal. Right now, different labs may give you different results when you have your testosterone level tested. The way to get an accurate number is kind of clunky, but you need to ask the test purveyor, Has this lab test been validated and certified by the CDC? Those that have been provide an accurate number and meet the most up-to-date standards of what low is.

Testosterone therapy isnt recommended if you hope to start a family. When youre on it, your body produces less T and, in turn, fewer or no sperm. Most of the time, when you stop T therapy, production returns, but not always like before.

Later this year, the results of a blockbuster testosterone trial should answer lingering questions about Ts cardiovascular safety and benefits. But doctors make it clear that if your level is low and youre suffering, you can benefit from increasing it. In other words, the benefit-to-risk ratio is favorable when you treat the right people (those with testosterone deficiency). Testosterone has a bad rap, says Dr. Morgentaler, as its been associated with bodybuilders and cheating athletes. Yet there are years of data on it; its been on the market since the 1930s.

Just make sure low T is whats causing your symptoms. Weight gain, fatigue, ED, and lack of motivation and concentration all have other causes. And obesity, smoking, excessive alcohol use, and a lack of sleep may also be responsible for low testosterone. Manage those and you may be able to naturally raise your testosterone level and improve the number and the quality of the years ahead. After all: If you have a garden with a bunch of overgrown weeds, planting more flowers is not necessarily going to make for a more beautiful garden, Dr. Anawalt says. You need to actually get rid of the problem.

This story originally appeared in the April 2023 issue of Men's Health.

Freelance Writer

Cassie Shortsleeve is a skilled freelance writer and editor with almost a decade of experience reporting on all things health, fitness, and travel. A former Shape and Mens Health editor, her work has also been published in Womens Health, SELF, Runners World, Mens Journal, CNTraveler.com, and other national print and digital publications. When shes not writing, youll find her drinking coffee or running around her hometown of Boston.

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How Testosterone Affects Your Lifespan and Health - Men's Health

Among men with prediabetes and low testosterone levels, taking testosterone may help improve blood lipid (cholesterol and triglyceride) levels and body composition, according to a new study published in the journal Andrology.

For many men, testosterone levels decline with age, and this decline may have an impact on several different aspects of health. Diabetes is one of these areas in fact, one study showed that for men with low testosterone, taking testosterone can lead to remission of type 2 diabetes (having normal blood glucose levels without taking any glucose-lowering drugs). Testosterone therapy has also been linked to a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, and it may reduce the risk for certain types of cancer as well. Testosterone isnt a miracle elixir, though one study showed that when it came to blood vessel health in middle-aged men, exercise was found to be helpful, while testosterone therapy was not. While you may not be able to raise very low testosterone levels significantly without taking testosterone, one study showed that eating more fat may help boost borderline-low testosterone levels in men.

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For the latest study, researchers used a number of different data sources to look at the relationship between low testosterone, prediabetes, and metabolic health and body composition. In one set of eight different studies that included a total of 3,625 participants with impaired fasting glucose (prediabetes) and 6,205 without impaired fasting glucose, they found that having impaired fasting glucose was linked to a 3 nmol/L lower average testosterone level and an 80% higher risk for low testosterone. When the researchers looked at various metabolic and body measurements, they found that participants waist size and body-mass index (BMI, a measure of body weight that takes height into account) were the best predictors of having reduced testosterone levels.

In a separate group of 229 men with prediabetes and low testosterone with an average age of 58.2, the researchers found that a form of testosterone therapy (called long-acting injectable T undecanoate) was linked to improved blood glucose control. While 90% of participant who received testosterone therapy reached normal blood glucose control as shown by an A1C level (a measure of long-term blood glucose control) below 5.7%, among those who didnt receive the therapy 40.2% went on to develop type 2 diabetes. Whats more, participants who received testosterone therapy showed significant improvement in waist size, BMI, and body weight, as well as fasting glucose, total cholesterol, HDL (high-density lipoprotein, or good) cholesterol, LDL (low-density lipoprotein, or bad) cholesterol, and triglyceride levels.

It is our opinion that the combined approach of [testosterone therapy] and lifestyle changes should be used in men with low testosterone and sexual dysfunction to better motivate patients to perform physical activity eventually resulting in weight loss and sexual function improvement, the researchers wrote. More studies are needed, though, to find out whether testosterone therapy can help prevent type 2 diabetes in men with prediabetes.

Want to learn more about prediabetes? ReadWhat Is Prediabetes? Symptoms, Treatment, and More,Prediabetes TreatmentandDiabetes Prevention: Eat to Beat Diabetes.

Living with type 2 diabetes?Check out our free type 2 e-course!

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Testosterone Therapy May Improve Measures in Men With ... - Diabetes Self Management

Low testosterone is a condition that goes by many names. Learn about the important differences.

These days, the topic of low testosterone (low-T) is fully in the mainstream. TV ads feature former athletes talking about it and how they've overcome it with the help of product A or B. Specialty clinics have popped up with solutions that include testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). Low-T is everywhere.

Fair enough. But what, exactly, constitutes low testosterone? What are the conditions that cause it? What are the different types of low-T?

Here, we look at a couple of testosterone-related conditionsandropause and hypogonadismand discover what those terms mean, what they don't mean and how they fit into the bigger picture of true, clinically diagnosed low testosterone.

The term hypogonadism refers to men whose bodies don't produce enough of the hormone testosterone, a condition that data suggests may affect 2 percent to 8 percent of the male population, according to Cleveland Clinic.

It can lead to low sex drive and mood swings, although hypogonadism may not be the most common word for this condition anymore.

"There are a lot of terms people use," said Amy Pearlman, M.D., a men's health specialist and co-founder of Prime Institute in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. "The term that's used in the American Urological Association guidelines is 'testosterone deficiency,' so that's the term I use a lot more often."

The AUA guidelines state that a confirmatory test showing less than 300 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL) of total testosterone is needed to support a diagnosis of low-T, but you must also have signs and symptoms.

"TRT is for people who have low testosterone levels on their blood test as well as symptoms or signs of it," Pearlman said. "Neither one alone would warrant someone being on therapy. So just a single testosterone level is not enough."

To understand how doctors assess your bloodwork when considering TRT, it helps to learn how testosterone production works in your body.

Testosterone is produced in the testicles, but the process actually begins in the hypothalamus, a structure deep within the brain. The hypothalamus sends out hormonal signals when testosterone levels in the body are low, communicating with the pituitary gland at the base of the brain. This pea-sized gland then sends out another signal called luteinizing hormone (LH) to the testicles, prompting them to produce more testosterone.

It's this signal pathway that helps healthcare providers determine what's really going on with your testosterone production.

"Whenever I have someone with lower testosterone, I order a confirmatory testosterone level in the morning, then also order some additional blood tests like LH, prolactin, a thyroid panel, prostate-specific antigen, those sort of things," said Neel Parekh, M.D., a men's fertility and sexual health specialist with Cleveland Clinic.

If the LH is elevated and testosterone is low, that indicates a condition called primary hypogonadism, he explained. The brain is sending the signal to make testosterone, but the testicle is not producing testosterone.

"This is one of the FDA-approved indications for prescribing testosterone or TRT," Parekh said.

Hypogonadism, or testosterone deficiency, can affect males of any age.

On the other hand, the condition that some people call andropause, or "male menopause," is meant to indicate older men and the natural decline in testosterone production that occurs with age. Since it is a natural, gradual change, even calling it a condition is a bit of a misnomer.

These changes are slight and incremental and may even go largely unnoticed.

"The thing is, testosterone levels don't actually go down that much due to age," Pearlman said. "They go down after about age 30, but it's only about 1 percent per year."

All else being equal, you can likely remain well above the clinical diagnosis level for low-T even into your 70s. The thing is, all else frequently isn't equal. That is to say, it's often not just aging that causes testosterone deficiency problems, it's other factors.

"A lot of what we see is actually related to other conditions a person has and not necessarily due to age," Pearlman said. "I see a lot of guys who are in their 60s, 70s and 80s who eat healthy and exercise, and their testosterone levels might be higher than guys in their 30s who have diabetes and who are obese."

So, yes, age is one of many factors. The other causes of low testosterone could impact people of any age, including the following:

"There are like 20 different causes of low testosterone, and age is only one of them," Pearlman said.

The other thing to keep in mind about the term andropause is that it's a bit of a loaded word. It's derived from menopause, the time in a woman's life when she stops ovulating and her estrogen levels plummet sharply. Menopause, though, as it typically happens to women, is a very different condition from men's gradual testosterone decline.

"I just usually talk about it as 'lower testosterone,'" Parekh said. "And that's something I tell patients every day: It's just a normal part of aging. Unless they're having symptoms, we don't just treat a lower testosterone level. We don't just treat a number."

Calibrating testosterone levels is a complex, multi-organ process that most male bodies manage to carry out quite well.

If you genuinely have testosterone deficiency symptoms and you get two or more tests to confirm low levels, of course, you should be treated for it.

Just make sure you talk with your family physician, a urologist or another trusted healthcare provider to get a clear understanding of how TRT works before you try to diagnose and treat yourself.

And if you don't have a regular physician, now is the time to find one. Giddy Telehealth takes the difficulty out of such a search, providing access to hundreds of healthcare professionals who offer video visits as a regular part of their practices. It is an easy-to-use online portal whose physicians, therapists and others have expertise across the full scope of medical care. Many have same-day appointments.

Editors note: Giddy welcomes first-person stories that break down stigmas and connect with readers to let them know they're not alone. Are you affected by low-T, or did you overcome it? Are you willing to share your story to help others in a similar situation? We'd like to hear from you. Send a message to Mike Werling at [emailprotected]

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Andropause and Hypogonadism Are Both Low Testosterone ... - Giddy

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