Publications by authors named "Raymond Fung"

Article Synopsis
  • Trans/transfeminine women face higher rates of HIV infection, and concerns about interactions between HIV treatment (ART) and gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) might discourage them from starting ART compared to cisgender women.
  • The study aims to analyze how feminizing hormone therapy (FHT) interacts with a specific ART regimen (B/F/TAF) by conducting a six-month study with three groups of participants: trans women with HIV on both therapies, cis women with HIV on ART, and trans women without HIV on FHT.
  • Findings from this research could provide essential insights into the safe use of ART and FHT together, which is crucial for improving health outcomes for trans women living with HIV.
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Background: Transgender people encounter significant barriers when seeking timely, high-quality healthcare, resulting in unmet medical needs with increased rates of diabetes, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and HIV. The paucity of postgraduate medical education to invest in standardization of transgender health training sustains these barriers, leaving physicians feeling unprepared and averse to provide transgender health care. Closing this education gap and improving transgender healthcare necessitates the development of consensus-built transgender health objectives of training (THOOT), particularly in Adult Endocrinology and Metabolism Residency programs.

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Background Left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) has emerged as an alternative to oral anticoagulation therapy for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation, but data comparing LAAO with direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) are sparse. Methods and Results This cohort study compared LAAO (with or without prior anticoagulation) with a switch of one DOAC to another DOAC by 1:2 propensity score matching. The primary outcome was a composite of all-cause mortality, ischemic stroke, and major bleeding.

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Background: Feminizing hormone therapy (FHT) is essential to many trans women. Concern about negative drug interactions between FHT and ART can be an ART adherence barrier among trans women with HIV.

Objectives: In this single-centre, parallel group, cross-sectional pilot study, we measured serum oestradiol concentrations in trans women with HIV taking FHT and unboosted integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI)-based ART versus trans women without HIV taking FHT.

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Article Synopsis
  • A study was conducted to explore the patterns of feminizing hormone therapy (FHT) and antiretroviral therapy (ART) in trans women living with HIV compared to those without HIV.
  • Among 1495 trans women reviewed, only 86 had HIV, with 91.8% receiving ART, primarily based on integrase inhibitors.
  • The research found that trans women with HIV were less likely to be prescribed FHT than those without, but their serum estrogen and testosterone levels showed no significant differences, suggesting minimal drug-drug interaction concerns.
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Background: Underreported variation in parathyroid hormone (PTH) assays exists. Using quality improvement methods, we aimed to develop an institution-specific PTH-based protocol to predict hypocalcemia after thyroidectomy.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed patients who underwent total/completion thyroidectomy.

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Background And Objectives: Gender-affirming hormone therapy modifies body composition and lean muscle mass in transgender persons. We sought to characterize the change in serum creatinine, other kidney function biomarkers, and GFR in transgender persons initiating masculinizing and feminizing gender-affirming hormone therapy.

Design, Setting, Participants, & Measurements: We searched PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Findings revealed that all participants were engaged in HIV care, with 93% currently on antiretroviral therapy (ART) and 93.4% having viral loads suppressed (under 200 copies/ml).
  • * Results also indicated disparities, such as trans women of color showing higher ART usage than white trans women, and those without a history of injection drug use being more likely to achieve viral suppression.
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Objective: To describe the case of a 17-year-old transgender boy who experienced breast development while on testosterone, having been suppressed with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist prior to testosterone therapy.

Case Report: A 17-year-old transgender boy presented with breast development after having been on a GnRH agonist and then testosterone since the age of 11 years, having never experienced breast development before, which was consistent with pubertal gynecomastia. A small decrease in the testosterone dose resulted in a significant reduction of gynecomastia.

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We report a case of stent reverse controlled antegrade and retrograde subintimal tracking (CART) in left anterior descending artery (LAD) chronic total occlusion. Reverse CART is the method used to make a connection between the retrograde wire and the antegrade true lumen by using a balloon to dilate the antegrade space and pushing the retrograde wire into this space. We successfully crossed the septal channel from right coronary to the LAD, and proceeded to reverse CART, which was unsuccessful.

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Re-operation of a tricuspid bioprosthesis carries high morbidity and mortality, especially when carried out with other concomitant valvular heart surgery. Concurrent transcatheter valve implantation has evolved as an alternative option. Here we report on a 77-year-old lady who suffered from symptomatic severe recurrent stenosis of a tricuspid bioprosthesis (Sorin Pericarbon More, 27) and moderate to severe aortic stenosis (AS) who was declined for redo open heart surgery as it was deemed very high risk.

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Background: The transgender (trans) population faces multiple barriers in accessing health care, with knowledge deficits of health care providers contributing substantially. Trans patients report having to teach health care professionals about their own health needs. We compared perceptions of trans-care education and training across family medicine, psychiatry, endocrinology, and urology residency training programs at the University of Toronto.

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A saphenous vein graft chronic total occlusion intervention is uncommonly performed, partly due to the high risk of distal embolization. We described a strategy in which after successful wiring of a saphenous vein graft chronic total occlusion, balloon dilatation was performed to create a blind sac within the lesion, followed by aspiration thrombectomy to remove all the dislodged debris. Thereafter, balloon dilatation and stenting were safely performed in the distal occluded segment, to achieve complete recanalization.

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A reliable stenting strategy for treating isolated side branch (SB) ostium stenosis is not well established. The purpose of this study was to examine the 6-month angiographic outcome of a novel technique, called the shoulder technique, on this lesion subtype. Symptomatic patients with isolated SB ostium stenosis, defined as ≥75% diameter stenosis at SB ostium and <50% diameter stenosis in main vessel (MV), were treated with paclitaxel-eluting balloon in MV and drug-eluting stent in SB using the shoulder technique.

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Introduction: Spironolactone and cyproterone acetate (CPA) are the two main antiandrogen medications used in feminizing hormone therapy in transgender women. Previous studies have suggested that these two agents might have opposite effects on high-density lipoprotein (HDL) level when used in this context, and limited data have suggested CPA increases prolactin more than spironolactone.

Aim: To compare the effects of spironolactone and CPA on HDL and prolactin serum concentrations in transgender women.

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Background: Osteomalacia-inducing tumors (OIT) are mesenchymal tumors that characteristically secrete fibroblast growth factor 23, resulting in a paraneoplastic syndrome of hypophosphatemic osteomalacia. These tumors are known to occur in soft tissues and bones in various sites. It is very unusual for OITs to occur intracranially, with only 10 reported intracranial cases since their discovery in 1959.

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The aim of this study was to examine the mid-term angiographic result of T-stenting with small protrusion (TAP) as the bailout strategy for treating coronary bifurcation lesions. From 2009 to 2012, symptomatic patients who had severe coronary bifurcation stenoses were treated with one-stent strategy using drug-eluting stents, with kissing balloon inflation performed whenever side branch (SB) impingement occurred. TAP was performed if residual diameter stenosis of SB was ≥75%, presence of ≥type B dissection or flow impairment was observed in the SB.

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Organo-lead halide perovskite solar cells have emerged as one of the most promising candidates for the next generation of solar cells. To date, these perovskite thin film solar cells have exclusively employed organic hole conducting polymers which are often expensive and have low hole mobility. In a quest to explore new inorganic hole conducting materials for these perovskite-based thin film photovoltaics, we have identified copper iodide as a possible alternative.

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Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the angiographic result and its outcome predictors using the combination of paclitaxel-eluting balloon (PEB) and Genous stent.

Background: This approach to treat coronary stenoses is a logical strategy to strike a balance between minimizing restenosis and stent thrombosis.

Methods: From November 2010 to June 2012, 40 symptomatic patients with 44 de novo coronary lesions of diameter stenosis ≥ 50% were treated with the combination of PEB and Genous stents.

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Heat acclimation improves the tolerance of organisms to severe heat stress. Our previous work showed that in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), the "memory" of heat acclimation treatment decayed faster in the absence of the heat-stress-associated 32-kD protein HSA32, a heat-induced protein predominantly found in plants. The HSA32 null mutant attains normal short-term acquired thermotolerance but is defective in long-term acquired thermotolerance.

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The role of the second-generation zotarolimus-eluting stent RESOLUTE in small-vessel coronary artery disease is unclear. The aim of this study was examine the angiographic results of RESOLUTE in de novo coronary lesions of ≥50 % diameter stenosis in target vessels ≤2.5 mm.

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