How hormone blockers put puberty on pause
CBC
Hormone therapies are medications with a variety of uses — from birth control, to treating symptoms of menopause, to fighting prostate cancer. But lately, one use in particular has been at the centre of a growing political storm: blocking puberty.
When used as a puberty blocker, hormone therapy delays the sexual development changes of puberty.
Puberty blockers have become a contentious issue in Canada, the U.S. and Europe, as politicians debate the use of these medications in children of various ages. Their use has been banned for minors in several U.S. states, and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith recently announced her government plans to introduce similar policies.
Here's a closer look at how puberty blockers are used in medicine.
Puberty blockers were originally used for precocious puberty, which is when a child's body starts to take on adult characteristics — such as breast development or pubic hair — before the age of eight for girls or nine for boys.
Doctors also prescribe puberty blockers to adolescents with gender incongruence or dysphoria — lasting distress due to a mismatch between one's sense of their own gender and their biological sex assigned at birth — in order to pause puberty and give them more time to explore their options.
"The clinical objective of prescribing a hormone blocker is to provide a young person with time to further explore their gender identity without pressure or distress related to ongoing development of secondary sex characteristics," or gendered experiences such as menstruation or erections, the Canadian Paediatric Society says in its 2023 position statement on affirming care for transgender and gender-diverse youth.
It adds that hormone blockers should not be prescribed before a child begins puberty.
Before an adolescent can consent to treatment, mental health providers confirm their understanding of the pros and cons of treatment and how puberty will resume if they stop taking the blockers.
Dr. Jake Donaldson, a primary care physician at Pinnacle Medical Centres in Calgary, consults on 2SLGBTQ+ care, including hormone replacement therapy for transgender and gender non-binary individuals.
He says when puberty blockers are given too late in the process of puberty, some changes to the body become permanent and might need surgery to reverse.
"The critical time for puberty blockers is the onset of puberty," Donaldson said in an interview with CBC's Canada Tonight. "If you introduce it after that, it's too late."
WATCH | Trans teen health in a rural community:
A common type of puberty blocker is gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues. These are chemical compounds similar in structure to the hormone made and released by a gland in the brain.
Run 3 Space | Play Space Running Game
Traffic Jam 3D | Online Racing Game
Duck Hunt | Play Old Classic Game
The death of an Ontario infant born prematurely and infected with measles through the mother is raising questions about how the virus is transmitted during pregnancy.
In Nova Scotia, where there's a significant proportion of people living with disabilities, work is underway to measure whether the province is making progress on improving their lives.
Under a punishing midday sun, Devabhai Sawadiya slowly rakes the salt pan that has been in his family for generations. It's quiet around him, except for the sweeping motions of his salt broom and the soft, clinking sound of dishes being washed nearby.
WARNING: This article references sexual assault and may affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone impacted by it.
James Smith woke up from a colonoscopy to be told devastating news. At 59, he was diagnosed with colon cancer. Doctors found a mass so large it completely blocked their view of the rest of his colon. Smith said he was shocked.
Stephanie Cameron-Johnson was 11 and in foster care when she learned her mother had gone missing on Vancouver Island, after a friend showed her a photo in a newspaper.
You may be hearing a lot about the gut microbiome these days — it's been mentioned everywhere, from wellness podcasts to the grocery aisle. Doctors are tapping into it to try to treat some diseases differently.