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This longitudinal study is designed to test bidirectional relationships between preteen girls' mental health and social media experiences. We will explore how pubertal development and experiences of rejection influence these relationships.
Starting at puberty, female adolescents are nearly three-times more likely to develop internalizing disorders, like depression, while male adolescents are two-times more likely to develop externalizing disorders, like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This divergence between the sexes during puberty suggests sex-specific pathways of risk and differential effects of sex hormones. The purpose of this research is to determine: 1) sex-specific neural and endocrine features of the pubertal transition that may mediate sex differences in adolescent mood disorders, and 2) the neurophysiological basis of susceptibility to hormone change during puberty.
Early diabetic kidney disease (DKD) occurs in 50-70% of youth with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and confers high lifetime risk of dialysis and premature death. Youth-onset T2D typically manifests during or shortly after puberty in adolescents with obesity. Epidemiological data implicate puberty as an accelerator of kidney disease in youth with obesity and diabetes and the investigators posit that the link between puberty and T2D-onset may explain the high burden of DKD in youth-onset T2D. A better understanding of the impact of puberty on kidney health is needed to promote preservation of native kidney function, especially in youth with T2D.
Hormones are substances that are made by the body and are sent directly out into the bloodstream to increase or decrease the function of certain organs, glands, or other hormones. Testosterone is a hormone found in the blood of all girls, but some girls have too much testosterone in their blood. Too much testosterone in the blood can possibly lead to a problem called polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). People with PCOS have abnormal menstrual periods, excess facial and body hair, and too much testosterone in their blood. On the other hand, some girls with too much testosterone in their blood do not develop PCOS. We do not know why some of these girls develop PCOS and why some do not. The purpose of this research study is to find out whether too much testosterone can cause problems with other hormones that can lead to the development of PCOS. This study may help us understand more about the causes of PCOS.
Despite the clear importance of adolescence in the emergence of a number of disease states and processes, there is surprisingly little known about how the endocrine and metabolic events accompanying puberty in humans impact normal developmental neurobiology. Epidemiologic studies have identified sexual dimorphisms in the prevalence of several neuropsychiatric disorders, including depression, schizophrenia, and substance abuse. Many of these sex differences emerge during or shortly after puberty and are maintained until the 5th-6th decade of life. For example, the two-fold greater risk of unipolar depression in women compared with men does not appear until adolescence, and prior to puberty girls are not at increased risk relative to boys. Puberty is a structured, transitional process that can be influenced by both nutritional factors and environmental stressors; nonetheless, the variability in the timing and duration of puberty is largely determined by oligogenic inheritance. Basic neuroscience research has demonstrated that hormonal events accompanying puberty impact on many of the physiologic systems involved in the regulation of brain function (e.g., the appearance of new neurons in a brain-region specific pattern, neuronal remodeling, and the pruning of cortical connectivity). Additionally, not only does stress during puberty increase the risk of disturbances in affective adaptation during adulthood, but the events accompanying puberty modify stress responsivity (e.g., alterations in the duration and peak response of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal \[HPA\] axis hormones to stressors). Moreover, animal work has demonstrated that neural connectivity differs in a brain regional specific manner according to the stage of puberty (i.e., early versus late). In humans, puberty also occurs in stages, and although the endocrinology of puberty, surprisingly, has not been fully characterized with longitudinal data, studies have documented that the physical changes measured by Tanner stages I to V are accompanied by progressive increases in the secretions of both gonadal and adrenal steroids. Nonetheless, there remains considerable variability in the timing and duration of this otherwise highly structured reproductive transition. We propose to perform a longitudinal, naturalistic study examining changes in brain structure and function, behavior, and stress responsivity in boys and girls across the pubertal transition. Because the pubertal transition is defined by a complex series of physiologic events that emerge sequentially over several years and involve changes in multiple endocrine and growth systems, and because there is also considerable variability in the timing of these events reflecting the influence of both genetic and environmental factors, puberty cannot by delineated by age of the participants as has been done in most imaging and other neurobiological studies of adolescence. The present study will formally bridge this gap by defining pubertal events per se in participants. Participants will include healthy boys and girls whose pubertal status will be assessed, and in whom endocrine, metabolic, and brain imaging measures will be evaluated at eight - ten month intervals from age eight years (pre-puberty) until age 17 years (post-puberty). Reproductive endocrine, metabolic, and physical measures will be employed to characterize the stage and duration of pubertal development. Outcome measures will be derived via multimodal neuroimaging techniques, cognitive/behavioral assessments, metabolic measurements, and evaluations of HPA axis function. Additionally, the impact of genetic variation on the developmental trajectory of these parameters (both reproductive and CNS) will be determined. This cross-institute proposal will employ a multidisciplinary approach to evaluating the effects on CNS function of the process of puberty in both boys and girls. This work will not only serve to inform research on the mechanisms by which sexual dimorphisms in neuropsychiatric disorders develop, it will also have important implications for the prevention and treatment of these disorders. ...
Transmasculine youth (female sex assigned at birth, male gender identity) who begin clinical gender affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) with testosterone (T) may experience changes in headache. Researchers think this because studies published on effects of giving testosterone to cisgender females (female sex, female gender identity) and transmasculine adults seem to show an effect on pain. This research will help us learn more about changes in headache and in brain structure and function in transmasculine youth during the first two years of T. Youth who will be starting T within 6 months, either on puberty blocker or not, as part of their regular medical care can participate and will be asked to attend 4 visits: * before starting T * after 6 months on T * after 1 year on T * after 2 years on T At the visits, they will be asked to: * answer questions and surveys about their health * have a brain MRI done * give a small sample of blood and at their first visit, complete a physical exam. Some participants can also do a brief test of pain sensitivity. All participants will be asked to complete a headache diary for the first 6 months, for 1 month after the 1 year visit, and for 1 month after the 2 year visit.
The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of Debio 4326 in suppressing serum luteinizing hormone (LH) to prepubertal levels 52 weeks after the first Debio 4326 injection in pediatric participants with central precocious puberty (CPP).
This observational study will evaluate the effect of puberty suppression on insulin sensitivity, metabolic rate and vascular health among transgender female youth at baseline and 6 months after initiation of a gondoatropin releasing hormone agonist compared to matched cisgender male controls.
The purpose of this study is two-fold. (1) We will determine if in mid- to late pubertal girls without hyperandrogenism (HA), progesterone (P4) acutely reduces waking luteinizing hormone (LH) frequency to a greater extent than sleep-associated LH frequency. (2) We will determine if in mid- to late pubertal girls with HA, P4 will acutely suppress waking LH frequency to a lesser degree than it does in girls without HA.
The purpose of this study is to determine if, in mid- to late pubertal girls with hyperandrogenism (HA), androgen-receptor blockade (spironolactone) alone normalizes sleep-wake luteinizing hormone (LH) pulse frequency (primary endpoint) and overall LH and follicle-stimulating hormone secretion (secondary endpoints).