How puberty hormones and testosterone affect headaches in transmasculine teens
Official title: Effect of pubertal hormones on Headache in Transmasculine Adolescents
Funded at University of Colorado Denver · NIH-11322981 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether starting gender‑affirming testosterone changes how often or how bad headaches are in transmasculine adolescents.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Colorado Denver NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Aurora, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | February 15, 2024 |
| Project end | January 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $224,924 |
| NIH project number | 5K23NS130143-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11322981 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are transmasculine adolescents (roughly ages 11–20) who are planning to start or have recently started gender‑affirming testosterone and who can provide medical records and attend visits or scans.
✕Less likely to help
Youth who are not transmasculine, who are not using or planning to use testosterone, or who cannot undergo MRI scans or clinic follow‑up are unlikely to be eligible or to benefit directly.
What this research studies
From your point of view, the team will first look across medical records from several centers to compare headache rates in teens who have and have not started testosterone. They will follow adolescents over time to see whether headache frequency or severity changes after beginning gender‑affirming testosterone. The researchers will also use brain imaging to look for structural and functional changes in areas linked to headache, like the amygdala, that might explain hormone‑related effects.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could help clinicians prevent or better treat headaches in transmasculine adolescents by guiding hormone‑therapy timing and related care.
How similar studies have gone: This is a novel approach: prior research links puberty and sex hormones to headache differences between sexes, but using testosterone in transmasculine youth as a controlled model is new.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Colorado Denver
Aurora, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Hranilovich, Jennifer — University of Colorado Denver
- Study coordinator: Hranilovich, Jennifer
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.