On Swyer's Syndrome and Complete Androgen Insensitvity Syndrome
Okay with all the stuff going down at the Olympics I thought I would give a little primer here on Two types of XY intersex conditions: Swyers and CAIS.
First up Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome or CAIS.
What is CAIS? It is when there is a defect in the gene needed to create androgen receptors inside our cells. Testosterone is a type of androgen and without these receptors our bodies can NOT react to Testosterone at all. The result is that one's body acts as if one had zero testosterone at all.
This has many interesting results. Because Testerone is needed to form primary sexual characteristics a person with an XY genotype will instead develop as a female. This includes forming a vulva and a vagina. Depending on if a related gene is also damaged or not they can even develop uteruses though this is rare. The only male organ they have is internal (non-functional) testes in place of Ovaries.
When puberty hits they will experience a female puberty (as unused Testosterone is converted into Estrogen) and develop female secondary sexual characteristics. If they have a uterus they will menstrate, but seeing as this is rare most XY girls with CAIS will not experience this. Those who do not have a uterus will not ever experience menstration or periods and will end up going to see a doctor and discovering that they have CAIS at that time. Those with a uterus usually learn they have CAIS when trying to have a child and encountering fertility issues.
Women with CAIS tend to be taller than normal and have fair skin. However, since their bodies don't react to androgens they have LESS muscle mass than non-intersex women and more fragile bones.
Which means women with CAIS are usually at a DISADVANTAGE compared to non-intersex women when it comes to sports...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complete_androgen_insensitivity_syndrome
Now lets look at Swyer's Syndrome.
Swyer's syndrome is when the male determiningi gene (sry gene) is absent or no longer functioning. When this happens the gonands fail to develop as either male or female and remain "Streak Gonads." Without having Testes a person with this condition will develop as a typical female as it takes the presence of the SRY gene to cause one to develop as a male.
Because they have streak gonads instead of ovaries or testes, women with Swyer's face several complications. When puberty happens theirs is usually delayed or never happens on its own. It is usually at this point they are first diagnosed. They are usually prescribed estrogen to bring about normal female puberty. Generally, like XY women with CAIS, women with Swyer's are infertile. However, there are extremely rare exceptions. There is supposedly been at least one case where the woman got pregnant and gave birth to a daughter (who also had Swyer's). But this is exceedingly rare.
Because they don't have Testes, women with Swyer's have the same Testosterone levels as non-intersex women. Therefore they do NOT have any competitive advantage in sports... at all.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XY_gonadal_dysgenesis
With this said, I read that it is being reported that Imane Khelif actually has Swyer's syndrome. That said I don't know the reliability of that report.
= new reply since forum marked as read
