Treatment
Upon diagnosis, estrogen and progesterone therapy is typically commenced, prompting the development of female characteristics.
The consequences of streak gonads to a person with Swyer syndrome:
- Gonads cannot make estrogen, so the breasts will not develop and the uterus will not grow and menstruate until estrogen is administered. This is often given transdermally.
- Gonads cannot make progesterone, so menstrual periods will not be predictable until progestin is administered, still usually as a pill.
- Gonads cannot produce eggs so conceiving children naturally is not possible. A woman with a uterus but no ovaries may be able to become pregnant by implantation of another woman's fertilized egg (embryo transfer).
- Streak gonads with Y chromosome-containing cells have a high likelihood of developing cancer, especially gonadoblastoma. Streak gonads are usually removed within a year or so of diagnosis since the cancer can begin during infancy.
Read more about this topic: XY Gonadal Dysgenesis
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