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Regulators approve first trials for puberty-blocking drugs in children since ban
The trial will enroll around 220 under-16s to assess puberty blockers’ effects on wellbeing, brain development, and fertility, addressing a major evidence gap, researchers said.
- On Friday, UK regulators approved and launched the first clinical trials of puberty‑blocking drugs since last year’s ban, with King's College London researchers expecting recruitment early next year for the PATHWAYS Trial.
- The Cass review and a sharp rise in referrals drove the decision to commission PATHWAYS as Dr Hilary Cass found poor evidence for hormone treatments amid NHS gender services referrals surging to more than 5,000 by 2022.
- The PATHWAYS Trial will recruit around 250 children under 16 and randomise eligible young people to immediate treatment or a 12-month delayed start, following both groups for two years.
- Campaigners including Keira Bell have vowed legal challenges to halt recruitment, while doctors' groups warned of harms including bone loss and brain effects; researchers say some participants might continue treatment after the trial.
- The PATHWAYS research programme, �10.7 million, aims to inform NHS practice and policy for children attending gender services with initial results in around four years.
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Hundreds of children to be jabbed with puberty blockers in NHS-backed experiment - The Mirror
Approximately 250 young people are expected to participate in the study which researchers anticipate will clarify whether suppressing puberty affects brain development
·London, United Kingdom
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Children with gender dysphoria ‘could remain on puberty blockers after trial’
Plans for a puberty blockers trial were announced in 2024 following the publication of the Cass Review. Some children with gender dysphoria recruited to a trial on puberty blockers could remain on the drugs after the study ends despite them being banned in the UK to treat under-18s with the condition, researchers have said. Experts have launched a clinical trial looking at the impact of puberty blockers, with the first patients expected to be av…
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Total News Sources18
Leaning Left6Leaning Right2Center4Last UpdatedBias Distribution50% Left
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources lean Left
50% Left
L 50%
C 33%
R 17%
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