Hilary Cass on Woman's Hour 9.10.24

[WarriorN]

She will apparently be on the programme tomorrow talking about the impact of her report a year later.

I won't be able to listen but just a heads up if anyone else is interested.

I thought it was extensive experience and background in pediatrics.

Incredible to see the negative side effects that are known already for puberty blockers being dismissed here.

Puberty Blocker and Aging Impact on Testicular Cell States and Function

Varshini Murugesh, Megan Ritting, Salem Salem, Syed Mohammed Musheer Aalam, Joaquin Garcia, Asma J Chattha, Yulian Zhao, David JHF Knapp, Guruprasad Kalthur, Candace F Granberg, Nagarajan Kannan

March 27, 2024.

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.03.23.586441v1.full

Abstract

Spermatogonial stem cell (SSC) acquisition of meiotogenetic state during puberty to produce genetically diverse gametes is blocked by drugs collectively referred as ‘puberty blocker’ (PB). Investigating the impact of PB on juvenile SSC state and function is challenging due to limited tissue access and clinical data. Herein, we report largest clinically annotated juvenile testicular biorepository with all children with gender dysphoria on chronic PB treatment highlighting shift in pediatric patient demography in US. At the tissue level, we report mild-to-severe sex gland atrophy in PB treated children. We developed most extensive integrated single-cell RNA dataset to date (>100K single cells; 25 patients), merging both public and novel (52 month PB-treated) datasets, alongside innovative computational approach tailed for germ cells and evaluated the impact of PB and aging on SSC. We report novel constitutional ranges for each testicular cell type across the entire age spectrum, distinct effects of treatments on prepubertal vs adult SSC, presence of spermatogenic epithelial cells exhibiting post-meiotic-state, irrespective of age, puberty status, or PB treatment. Further, we defined distinct effects of PB and aging on testicular cell lineage composition, and SSC meiotogenetic state and function. Using single cell data from prepubertal and young adult, we were able to accurately predict sexual maturity based both on overall cell type proportions, as well as on gene expression patterns within each major cell type. Applying these models to a PB-treated patient that they appeared pre-pubertal across the entire tissue. This combined with the noted gland atrophy and abnormalities from the histology data raise a potential concern regarding the complete ’reversibility’ and reproductive fitness of SSC. The biorepository, data, and research approach presented in this study provide unique opportunity to explore the impact of PB on testicular reproductive health.

And an article

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-13276501/Mayo-Clinic-puberty-blockers-trans-kids-fertility-cancer-medicine.html

Yes, obviously, but I thought they also deliberately chose her as someone who wasn't either a total trans believer or non-believer. I thought her neutrality on this issue was one of the reasons. I must have read that somewhere but I can't remember where now.

Dr. Cass's anti trans views are precisely why she was chosen to lead the review

Any evidence for this assertion?

People who make assertions that are disliked by trans activists are automatically deemed 'transphobic'. It's just used as a slur, really.

I think it is fairy obvious why clinics deliberately kept no records, no data and refused to share what little they did have with Dr Cass. Very poor practice when using experimental drugs on children. IMO.

For anyone who is interested in trial design, or evidence-based medicine and how it's evaluated, I strongly recommend the book, Testing Treatments, that is free to download and interactive.
https://www.testingtreatments.org/

Cass was known to have expressed anti-trans sentiments on social media. Naturally, a transphobic government would choose someone whose views aligned with theirs.
All the links posted raise potential concerns that require further research, which is why a clinical trial is necessary.

Again, please provide evidence of this. Your assertion is not evidence.

Oh, fantastic, thank you.

Cass was known to have expressed anti-trans sentiments on social media.

Please post the links. Or, state exactly where they are and when she posted. Dr Cass doesn't strike me as someone who would do much posting on social media. Especially about clinical matters. So I would like to read those particular comments.

In no other branch of medicine is the lack of evidence, and complete disinterest in gaining and learning from evidence normalised. Why would anyone defend such shoddy practice?

Yes, unevidenced assertions are meaningless. They just look like a desperate attempt to smear.

'Transphobic' has been so overused to the point of absurdity that it no longer works as a slur.

If you are going to make accusations of this type, I think that you need to provide the evidence that Dr "Cass was known to have expressed anti-trans sentiments on social media."

And if you, personally, cannot find that evidence, why can't you? Did you see it? Or have you just taken some self-identified transgender activist influencers word for it?

Cass was known to have expressed anti-trans sentiments on social media.

Such as?

"All the links posted raise potential concerns that require further research, which is why a clinical trial is necessary."

And if the already conducted studies are not good enough, why would we expect someone who seems determined to not have any intention to accept these studies to believe the next set of studies that show exactly the same outcome?

How many children's health do you feel it is acceptable to have irreversibly damaged before you accept that these medical side effects have already been studied and already have been peer reviewed and published? Another 10 children? 100? 1000?

Will 1000 children having their health studied with a large proportion then experiencing the same life time negative side effects be enough for you to then say, 'oh, those studies were right all along, sorry?'

@RethinkingLife
Thank you for that link- looks very interesting.

It's a factual description.

Here is yet another peer reviewed study, that is also in line with other reports. This is directly in line with the Lupron findings.

But apparently..... we need further studies.... or is it then going to be said that bone density is a non-issue because at least these patients are 'living the life they wanted'. You know, the dismissive platitude that we have seen activists use time and time again.

Bone density issues caused by GnRH

Bone Health in the Transgender Population
Published online 2019 Jul 2.

Micol S. Rothman and Sean J. Iwamoto

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6709704/

This

Also unknown are the long-term effects of puberty blockade, the effect of changes in body composition and the optimal type, timing, dosage, and route of administration of GAHT for bone outcomes.

Conclusion
The results of the studies that reported impact on the critical outcomes of gender dysphoria and mental health (depression, anger and anxiety), and the important outcomes of body image and psychosocial impact (global and psychosocial functioning), in children and adolescents with gender dysphoria are of very low certainty using modified GRADE. They suggest little change with GnRH analogues from baseline to follow-up.

And

GnRH analogues are frequently employed to provide puberty blockade in adolescents with gender incongruence or gender dysphoria. From their use in other medical conditions such as prostate cancer, their deleterious effects on the bone are well known, although these have the potential to be reversible if treatments are stopped or add back therapies can be given

And

However, Z-scores in the trans boys also showed an expected drop during GnRHa treatment. Similarly, they did not fully make up their bone loss as Z-scores at age 22 were still lower than baseline

Meaning, the authors acknowledge little is known about the lasting effects of puberty blockers. In this study, they propose some positive effect from cross sex hormones for females but ths results show that it doesn’t really make up the loss from puberty blockers.

PLUS

Just adding this piece about bone density for young transitioners here:

https://segm.org/the_effect_of_puberty_blockers_on_the_accrual_of_bone_mass

1st May 2021

Dr Michael Biggs (an advisor to SEGM) has been calling for the release of data from the Tavistock’s experiment since 2019. A subset of the data were finally released following the judicial review into puberty suppression at the Tavistock clinic. Biggs’ reanalysis has just been published in the Journal of Paediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism. It finds that after two years on GnRHa, the Z-scores for a significant minority of the children had declined to a level that should trigger clinical concern.p

So, do you have that evidence or are we just to believe that you have read someone else's opinion and repeated it here?

It's a factual description.

No, it's your opinion.

Come now everyone, we all know that anyone not bending the knee to the genderists is "transphobic"...no point in asking for proof from those who are high on their own supply.

Claiming something is 'fact' is not equivalent to providing convincing evidence, I'm afraid.

So, we have the Lupron side effects that have been very well known now for years. That covers

Bone density
Connective tissue (to the point where teeth were all falling out and jaws needing significant remedial work)
Even things like pancreatitis

We have a study directly showing

Bone density

We have another study showing

significant calcification of the testes

We have studies indicating that there could be a drop in iQ, which also impacts memory.

We absolutely know that putting female teenagers into menopause is traumatising.

What do people think that the studies will show differently? This is like the moment when Harper's study agreed with Hilton and Lundberg, and we have about another 4 or 5 studies that also now agree with Hilton and Lundberg yet, male people are STILL competing in female sports categories because 'inclusion'.

When we know that male people have physical advantages over female people. But extreme transgender activists refuse to acknowledge this.

Is this where these new studies are going to go? And how many children will be left with irreversible damage because some people are so heavily invested in their philosophical belief that they will fully support this damaging treatment.

More on bone density and a follow up to Leo in Sweden. A teenaged female Swedish patient.

www.svtplay.se/video/33358590/uppdrag-granskning/mission-investigate-trans-children-avsnitt-1

The latest from Sweden on the effects of puberty blockers on Leo and others.

As the poster who posted this initially states:

A trans child, Leo was treated for puberty blockers for 4 years. Leo ended up with osteoporosis (significantly below any normal bone density interval), fractures in the back, constant pain and worse mental state.

The journalist also found an additional 12 cases in Stockholm only where children had serious side effects (bone fractures, deep regret from voice changes, injuries, deteriorating mental health and significant weight gains). Leo’s case was not reported and not one of these.