Female-to-male transsexual with 47,XXX karyotype

Background: There are few reports describing chromosomal abnormalities in t ransexuals. In rare cases, transsexualism and sexual chromosomal multiplici ty coexist. Six cases of male-to-female transsexuals with 47,XYY chromosoma l pattern have been previously reported, We have not encountered any female transsexual cases with 47,XXX karyotype in the literature. Methods: A 21-year-old female patient came to our outpatient department wit h depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts. On psychiatric interview, she reported that she had feelings of discomfort with her gender identity and h ad desired to be male since hei childhood. Then, we performed cytogenetic i nvestigation using blood culture and G chromosome banding Results: Histology and DNA histograms of the patient revealed a chromosomal pattern of 47,XXX. Conclusions: We conclude that sexual chromosomal abnormalities in some tran ssexuals may cause a vulnerability to development of a gender identity diso rder. (C) 2000 Society of Biological Psychiatry.