Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) substances, or as they are more commonly known, Puberty blockers, have been issued a warning from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) earlier this past month, stating that the drug could end up causing swelling of the brain, loss of vision, and extreme risks for kids injected with the hormones.
FDA officials stated that a plausible association between the use of puberty blockers and pseudotumor cerebri, which expresses symptoms the same way as a brain tumor, was found in a group of six young girls ranging in age from 5 to 12 years old.
“Five were undergoing treatment for central precocious puberty and one for transgender care,” explained a report from FDA officials. “The onset of pseudotumor cerebri symptoms ranged from three to 240 days after GnRH agonist initiation.”
The expressed symptoms in these patients included headaches, visual disturbances, and vomiting. Other effects caused by GnRH agonists were a quite noticeable spike in blood pressure, abducens neuropathy, and swelling of the brain.
One spokesperson from the FDA stated to Formulary Watch that the cases were labeled as clinically serious and determines that there needed to be a warning issued and added to all GnRH agonist products approved for pediatric patients.
“Although the mechanism by which GnRH agonists may lead to development of pseudotumor cerebri has not been elucidated, and patients with CPP may have a higher baseline risk of developing pseudotumor cerebri compared with children without CPP,” explained the spokesperson. “This potential serious risk associated with GnRH agonists justifies inclusion in product labeling.”
Hormones and various puberty blockers have recently found themselves the target of criticism in the wake of assertations from President Joe Biden’s U.S. Assistant Secretary of Health Rachel Levine that the U.S. need not put any limits whatsoever on access to what they called “gender-affirming care” to any youths.
“Gender affirming care is life-saving, medically necessary, age-appropriate, and a critical tool for health care providers,” stated Levine. “As a pediatrician, when it comes to making sure kids are healthy and happy, I know how important care that affirms someone’s true identity can be.”
These claims from Levine were argued against by Florida’s Department of Health, claiming that due to an extreme lack of any conclusive evidence, and the dangers of long-term irreversible effects, physicians should decline to issue kids under the age of 18 years old hormone therapy or puberty blockers.
“Based on the currently available evidence ‘encouraging mastectomy, ovariectomy, uterine extirpation, penile disablement, tracheal shave, the prescription of hormones which are out of line with the genetic make-up of the child, or puberty blockers, are all clinical practices which run an unacceptably high risk of doing harm,'” explained a memo from the Florida Department of Health.
However, Levine seems to claim that all major medical associations seem to agree with her sentiments about “gender-affirming” care, as reported by Fox News.