Publications by authors named "Micol Rothman"

Injectable estrogens are options for gender-affirming hormone therapy per guidelines, which suggest intramuscular dosages of 5-30 mg every 2 weeks or 2-10 mg weekly with estradiol cypionate or valerate interchangeably. Data among transgender and gender-diverse patients are limited due to local unavailability and concerns around laboratory assay variability and estradiol (E2) level fluctuation. We note a concerning trend where patients are prescribed high-dose injections based on the guidelines leading to serum E2 levels well above the range recommended in the same guidelines.

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Bone Health ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) is a virtual community of practice, where healthcare professionals have met via videoconferencing weekly since 2015. This model of learning is focused on short didactics and the presentation of real but de-identified patient cases followed by highly interactive discussions. These are often clinical situations with diagnostic and therapeutic dilemmas that are not readily addressed by randomized placebo-controlled clinical trials and clinical practice guidelines.

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Objective: Feminizing gender-affirming hormone therapy is the mainstay of treatment for many transgender and gender diverse people. Injectable estradiol preparations are recommended by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health Standards of Care 8 and the Endocrine Society guidelines. Many patients prefer this route of administration, but few studies have rigorously assessed optimal dosing or route.

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Introduction: Feminizing and masculinizing gender-affirming hormone therapy (fGAHT, mGAHT) results in bone mineral density (BMD) maintenance or improvement over time in transgender and gender diverse (TGD) adults. Mostly European TGD studies have explored GAHT's impact on BMD, but the association of BMI and BMD in TGD adults deserves further study.

Objective: To determine whether GAHT duration or BMI are associated with BMD and Z-scores among TGD young adults.

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Some transgender youth are treated with gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists (GnRHa) followed by testosterone or estradiol, which may impact bone mineral density (BMD). This cross-sectional study of transgender youth (n = 56, aged 10.4-19.

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A 39-year-old female with a history of kidney transplant presented to the endocrinology clinic for osteoporosis evaluation after sustaining an ankle fracture from a fall. Her kidney transplant regimen (mycophenolate mofetil 360 mg twice a day, tacrolimus 0.5 mg every morning and 0.

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Background: The Fracture Liaison Service (FLS) care model, a care coordination program for patients experiencing a fragility fracture, is proven to improve management of patients with an osteoporotic fracture, but treatment initiation gaps persist.

Objective: We describe the evolution of a centralized FLS within a university-based healthcare system, including impact of adding clinical pharmacist consultation, and describe circumstances surrounding continued care gaps.

Design: Cohort analysis of osteoporosis medication initiation before FLS, after initial implementation, and after addition of pharmacist consultation.

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Background: Morning serum cortisol level (mSCL) is a practical screening tool for hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis suppression and has been used to assess for duration of cortisol deficiency after epidural and peripheral glucocorticoid injections. More evidence is needed to establish the utility of mSCL in patients undergoing repeat injections with increasing cumulative glucocorticoid equivalent dose (CGED) that could place them at higher risk of HPA axis suppression.

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of spine injection candidates with significant HPA axis suppression (sigAS), to understand the correlation between 12 months of CGED and the presence of sigAS based on the timing of mSCL collection after the most recent glucocorticoid injection (within 6 weeks or between 6 weeks and 12 months), and to investigate demographic and clinical factors relating to sigAS.

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While endocrinologists continue to initiate gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) in healthy transgender and gender diverse (TGD) patients, they may also encounter more TGD patients in their clinics with complex medical histories that influence the patient-provider shared decision-making process for initiating or continuing GAHT. The purpose of this Approach to the Patient article is to describe management considerations in 2 adults with thromboembolic disease and 2 adults with low bone mineral density in the setting of feminizing and masculinizing GAHT.

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Extension for Community Health Outcomes (ECHO) is a model of continuing medical education meant to connect academic medical center-based specialists with community providers to increase capacity in managing complex health conditions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a shortened "bootcamp" ECHO model in increasing participant competence with topics related to transgender and gender diverse (TGD) health care and the impact of "bootcamp" participation on enrollment in an ongoing ECHO series. An ongoing monthly ECHO series was instituted on topics of TGD health.

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As the transgender and gender diverse (TGD) population ages, more transfeminine and transmasculine individuals present to clinic to initiate or continue their gender-affirming care at older ages. Currently available guidelines on gender-affirming care are excellent resources for the provision of gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT), primary care, surgery, and mental health care but are limited in their scope as to whether recommendations require tailoring to older TGD adults. Data that inform guideline-recommended management considerations, while informative and increasingly evidence-based, mainly come from studies of younger TGD populations.

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Unlabelled: Of patients prescribed systemic glucocorticoids, this study identifies the proportion prescribed osteoporosis pharmacologic treatment and associated characteristics. Overall, 13.2% of patients were prescribed osteoporosis pharmacologic treatment.

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Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) adults face significant health care disparities stemming from systematic discrimination and stigma in health care. We created the UCHealth Integrated Transgender Program to provide culturally responsive and clinically competent care to TGD adults in Colorado. This article outlines the clinic model and summarizes results from a qualitative patient survey to assess patients' impressions and recommendations for improvement.

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Article Synopsis
  • The main goal of osteoporosis treatment is to lower the risk of fractures.
  • Bone-forming osteoporosis drugs are more effective than oral bisphosphonates as initial therapy, especially for patients at very high risk.
  • After completing a course of these bone-building drugs, switching to anti-remodeling agents helps maintain and improve the benefits of treatment.
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Unlabelled: Delays in denosumab dosing for osteoporosis treatment may lead to rapid bone loss or increased fractures. We assessed the frequency of delayed denosumab dosing before and after the implementation of a structured ordering plan with automated reminders and found that the rate of delayed denosumab dosing was cut in half.

Purpose: The purpose of our study was to assess the frequency of delayed denosumab dosing before and after the implementation of a structured ordering plan with automated reminders.

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The 2021 Virtual Santa Fe Bone Symposium was held August 5-8, with over 300 registered attendees from throughout the USA, and at least 18 other countries. This annual meeting focuses on applying advances in basic science and clinical research to the care of patients with osteoporosis and those with inherited and acquired disorders of bone metabolism. Participants represented a broad range of medical disciplines with an interest in skeletal diseases.

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Despite the growing number of adult transgender and gender diverse (TGD) patients seeking health services, there are many unknowns regarding how routine screening recommendations should be applied to TGD persons receiving gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT). Patients taking GAHT may have disease risks that differ from what is expected based on their sex assigned at birth or affirmed gender identity. We discuss two patient cases, one transgender man and one transgender woman who present for routine medical care, to review several conditions that may be impacted by the hormones utilized in masculinizing and feminizing GAHT and for which screening recommendations are available for TGD adults: cardiovascular risk factors, osteoporosis, breast cancer, cervical cancer, and prostate cancer.

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Evidence of clinical and/or biochemical androgen excess poses a unique differential in postmenopausal women. Some signs and symptoms of postmenopausal hyperandrogenism can be normal and attributed to the natural aging process. However, the causes of androgen excess in this group include both nontumorous and tumorous causes.

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Four heterozygous in-frame tandem duplications of different lengths in TNFRSF11A, the gene that encodes receptor activator of nuclear factor κB (RANK), constitutively activate RANK and lead to high turnover skeletal disease. Each duplication elongates the signal peptide of RANK. The 18-base pair (bp) duplication at position 84 (84dup18) causes familial expansile osteolysis (FEO), the 15-bp duplication at position 84 (84dup15) causes expansile skeletal hyperphosphatasia (ESH), the 12-bp duplication at position 90 (90dup12) causes panostotic expansile bone disease (PEBD), and the 27-bp duplication causes early-onset Paget's disease of bone (PDB2).

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Context: Geriatric hip fractures are increasingly common and confer substantial morbidity and mortality. Fragmentation in geriatric hip fracture care remains a barrier to improved outcomes.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of a comprehensive geriatric hip fracture program on long-term mortality.

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Transgender (trans) women (TW) were assigned male at birth but have a female gender identity or gender expression. The literature on management and health outcomes of TW has grown recently with more publication of research. This has coincided with increasing awareness of gender diversity as communities around the world identify and address health disparities among trans people.

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It is well known that sex steroids, particularly estrogen, play a crucial role in the attainment and maintenance of peak bone density in all people. Transgender (trans) women have been frequently observed to have low bone density prior to initiation of gender-affirming hormone therapy, while trans men generally do not. With pharmacologic estrogen, many studies show improving bone density in trans women.

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Objective: Few bone mineral density (BMD) data are available in men with anorexia nervosa (AN), and none in those with atypical AN (ATYP) (AN psychological symptoms without low weight) or avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) (restrictive eating without AN psychological symptoms). We investigated the prevalence and determinants of low BMD and estimated hip strength in men with these disorders.

Design: Cross-sectional: two centres.

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