Women with Male Chromosomes Say Life is Good

Girls born with male

chromosomes can still grow up to be women with normal sex lives, according to new

research.

Women with the rare gene mutation known as Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome

(CAIS) contradict a basic difference between men and women: That men have xy

chromosomes and women have xx chromosomes.

Women with CAIS, however, have xy chromosomes and started out as boys while still

embryos, say medical scientists at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore, which

pioneered research into the syndrome. But because of the gene mutation, their bodies don’t

recognize or use androgens, which are male hormones, like testosterone, that cause the

development of male characteristics. HealthScout