Hi all
'I have never encountered the kinds of concerns that some of the reviewers expressed in response to my review of puberty blockers. In this case,
it wasn’t the methods they objected to, it was the actual findings.' (Baxendale 2024)
Attached are pdfs of two articles by Sallie Baxendale, a UK neuropsychologist, about puberty blockers, illustrating the (widespread) suppression of evidence about the potential harms of 'gender-affirming care':
Here is the abstract and 'Key notes' of Baxendale's review article in
Acta Paediatrica:
Abstract
Aim Concerns have been raised regarding the impact of medications that interrupt puberty, given the magnitude and complexity of changes that occur in brain function
and structure during this sensitive window of neurodevelopment. This review examines the literature on the impact of pubertal suppression on cognitive and behavioural function in animals and humans.
Methods All studies reporting cognitive impacts of treatment with GnRH agonists/antagonists for pubertal suppression in animals or humans were sought via a systematic
search strategy across the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and PsycINFO databases.
Results Sixteen studies were identified. In mammals, the neuropsychological impacts of puberty blockers are complex and often sex specific (n = 11 studies).
There is no evidence that cognitive effects are fully reversible following discontinuation of treatment. No human studies have systematically explored the impact of these treatments on neuropsychological function with an adequate baseline and follow-up. There
is some evidence of a detrimental impact of pubertal suppression on IQ in children.
Conclusion Critical questions remain unanswered regarding the nature, extent and permanence of any arrested development of cognitive function associated with puberty
blockers. The impact of puberal suppression on measures of neuropsychological function is an urgent research priority.
Key notes
Baxendale's commentary article in UnHerd includes:
Last year, I wrote a paper [that] explained in relatively simple terms why we might think that blocking puberty in young people could impact their cognitive development. In a nutshell: puberty doesn’t just trigger
the development of secondary sex characteristics; it is a really important time in the development of brain function and structure. My review of the medical literature highlighted that while there is a fairly solid scientific basis to suspect that any process
that interrupts puberty will have an impact on brain development, nobody has really bothered to look at this properly in children with gender dysphoria.
…
I was surprised at just how little, and how low quality, the evidence was in this field.
I was also concerned that clinicians working in gender medicine continue to describe the impacts of puberty blockers as “completely physically reversible”, when it is clear that we just don’t know whether
this is the case, at least with respect to the cognitive impact.
…
The paper has now been accepted for publication in a well-respected, peer-reviewed journal. However, prior to this, the manuscript was submitted to three academic journals, all of whom rejected it.
… I have never encountered the kinds of concerns that some of the reviewers expressed in response to my review of puberty blockers. In this case, it wasn’t the methods they objected to, it was the actual findings.
… the most astonishing response I received was from a reviewer who was concerned that I appeared to be approaching the topic from a “bias” of heavy caution. This
reviewer argued that lots of things needed to be sorted out before a clear case for the “riskiness” of puberty blockers could be made, even circumstantially. Indeed, they appeared to be advocating for a default
position of assuming medical treatments are safe, until proven otherwise.
This sort of academic capture is part of a much broader regulatory/institutional capture that is strongly suppressing evidence/discussion/debate about gender-affirming care and gender identity/ideology.
Regards
Melissa
Melissa Raven
MPsych(Clin) MMedSc(ClinEpid) PhD
Psychiatric epidemiologist and policy analyst
Research Fellow
Critical and Ethical Mental Health
research group (CEMH)
www.adelaide.edu.au/robinson-research-institute/research/groups/cemh/
Robinson Research Institute
Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
University of Adelaide
55 King William Road, North Adelaide SA 5006, AUSTRALIA
PhD: Depression and antidepressants in Australia and beyond - a critical public health analysis
https://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/3686/