image by: HWN

HWN Suggests

Little is known about the effects of puberty blockers

Gender dysphoria—the miserable feeling of being at odds with one’s sex—is one of the fastest-rising medical complaints among children. America had one paediatric gender clinic in 2007. It now has at least 50. The sole paediatric gender clinic for England and Wales, known by its acronym, gids, has seen referrals rise 30-fold in a decade. A similar pattern is evident across the rich world.

Many attending such clinics are given gonadotropin-releasing hormone (gnrh) agonists, or “puberty blockers”. These drugs, licensed to treat cancers of the breast and prostate, endometriosis and “central precocious puberty”—a rare condition in which puberty starts far earlier than normal—are prescribed…

read full article

Featured

 Opinion on the use of puberty blockers in America is turning

Even members of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health have some concerns.

 Should we give puberty blockers to children with gender dysphoria?

Too little is known about the way gender identity forms and evolves in adolescence. To give truly informed consent, young people must be made aware of the absence of data.

Articles of Interest

An English ruling on transgender teens could have global repercussions

Worries grow over treatments that can leave children sterile.

Doubts are growing about therapy for gender-dysphoric children

Doubts are growing about therapy for gender-dysphoric children

Drug used to halt puberty in children may cause lasting health problems

The health problems described by more than a dozen women in interviews could illustrate long-range effects of pediatric use and warrant further investigation.

Evidence for puberty blockers use very low, says NICE

NICE found it was difficult to draw conclusions from existing studies because of the way they had been designed. They were "all small" and didn't have control groups, which are used to directly compare the effect of different treatments.

Hormone therapy is a horrible risk for kids

While parents might see hormones as a way of allowing their children to postpone decisions about actual sex-reassignment surgery — the removal of testicles, the creation of breasts, etc. — the truth is that this therapy may have real and long-term effects on children’s physical and psychological development.

Keeping Trans Kids From Medicine Doesn’t Make Them Disappear

Treating trans children isn’t an “experiment.” The experiment is making it impossible for these young people to become themselves.

Puberty blockers: why some young people need help exploring their gender identity

Young trans people face numerous challenges in life. These can include social discrimination, bullying, harassment and family rejection. It’s maybe not surprising then that trans youth are also at much higher risk of self-harm and suicide attempts than their peers.

Trans Teens Are Being Denied the Essential Treatment They're Legally Entitled To

Under-16s who have been weeks away from accessing treatment are still facing delay, despite a ruling allowing parents to consent to puberty blocker treatment.

Two classes of trans kids are emerging – those who have access to puberty blockers, and those who don’t

According to the clinical literature surrounding gender-affirming practice, the first goal of medical treatment is to buy time for the child or young person. This is done through puberty-suppression therapy, via hormone blockers. The thinking goes that by delaying the onset of puberty, gender-nonconforming kids won’t be rushed into a decision before they experience the irreversible development of secondary sex characteristics.

What Are Puberty Blockers?

Recent conservative legislation has targeted a class of drugs used to treat transgender adolescents. But what do these drugs actually do?