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What are puberty blockers and why are they in the middle of a controversy

These medicines used to temporarily stop the development of children are at the center of a legal dispute in the United Kingdom

A lawsuit against the British Health Service (NHS) for the prescription of puberty blockers has focused on this medicine, but What exactly are they and what are they used for?

Puberty blockers are medicines prescribed to some children who suffer gender dysphoria, to temporarily stop the development of their bodies.

The NHS describes gender dysphoria as “a condition in which a person experiences discomfort or distress because there is a mismatch between your biological sex and your gender identity“.

The drugs suppress estrogen releases and testosterone, hormones that begin to be produced in much larger quantities during puberty.

These hormones tell the body to develop elements such as breasts, period, facial hair or a deeper voice. Estrogen and testosterone suppression slows or stops its development.

Blockers are also used to treat conditions that cause premature puberty in much younger children.

Why are they used?

According to the British Gender Identity Development Service (Gids) -signed to the NHS-, pausing puberty allows giving a young person with gender dysphoria more time to consider your options, without having to go through the additional anguish that your body changes in a way you don’t want to.

When someone stops taking the blockers, their puberty resumes.

Transgender teenager tearing the word Female into MALE.
Blockers are prescribed to children or youth who have already begun puberty. (Photo: Getty Images)

However, the limited evidence that exists suggests that the majority of young people who take puberty blockers for gender dysphoria do not stop taking them, and many continue with the cross hormone therapy, which involves taking estrogen or testosterone.

By pausing puberty and the development of breasts or facial hair, someone who undergoes cross hormonal therapy can avoid having to subsequently undergo a more invasive surgical treatment, such as removing the breasts (mastectomy).

Puberty blockers when used to treat gender dysphoria can only be prescribed by a specialist.

They are prescribed to children or young people who have already started puberty. This process often begins years before physical signs of puberty appear and should be evaluated by a hormone specialist.

Why its TIn the middle of a controversy?

The legal action initiated against the NHS by a mother and a nurse focuses on whether children can give informed consent for treatment with hormonal blockers.

Puberty hormones are linked to changes not only in the body, but also in the brain. However, Gids argues that it is not yet known whether the puberty blocker treatment “alters the course of adolescent brain development.”

Hall of Gids.
The legal action initiated against the NHS by a mother and a nurse focuses on whether children can give informed consent for treatment. (Photo: BBC)

He also says that all the psychological effects of this type of medicine are not yet known.

Some preliminary data from one study showed that some of those who took hormonal blockers reported an increase in thoughts of suicide and self-harm, but it was not possible to establish whether it was due to the medication itself or was there any other factor behind that increase.

Clinical trial experts criticized the study design, but said the data justified a further investigation.

The NHS says, in its clinical guidelines, that the evidence on the long term impact of puberty blockers is “limited and still developing.”

Although the NHS considers them a “completely reversible” treatment, since puberty can be restarted, blockers can also have long-term health consequences.

For example, the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) lists a decrease in bone density as a possible side effect of triptorelin, the medication used by the Gids.

The court case against the NHS also alleges that puberty blockers can affect someone’s fertility and sexual functioning, although the evidence in this regard is limited.


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