Thread by @buttonslives

🚨 Groundbreaking new study from @MayoClinic, utilizing largest collection of testicular samples in youth, found mild to severe atrophy in the testes of boys who took puberty blockers, leading authors to doubt "reversibility" claims of these drugs.

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The new preprint study (not yet peer-reviewed), by researchers from the Mayo Clinic—a globally recognized leader in medical research—challenges the longstanding view of puberty blockers as a reversible "pause button" on puberty. buttonslives.news/p/new-mayo-cli…

The study presents evidence that puberty blockers induce significant cellular changes, impacting testicular development and sperm production in ways that are not reversible, with potentially permanent effects on testicular function and fertility.

As noted by the researchers of this study, no long-term studies exist for the use of puberty blockers in the context of halting puberty for gender dysphoric adolescents, and many potential health consequences remain unknown—including reproductive health.

The Mayo Clinic established the largest collection of testicular samples for patients aged 0-17 years, including those with gender dysphoria who have and have not yet received puberty blocker treatment, creating a database of over 130,000 individual cells for analysis.

Researchers analyzed testicular tissue from youths undergoing fertility preservation surgery, comparing samples from those on puberty blocker treatment to untreated controls and found concerning abnormalities in the treated group.

In the case of a 12-year-old on puberty blockers for 14 months, 59% of the sex glands showed complete atrophy, along with the presence of microlithiasis—where calcium clusters form in the testicles. Research shows a link between testicular microlithiasis and testicular cancer.

The study analyzed over 11,000 individual cells from the testicles of a 14-year-old on puberty blockers for over 4 years. 90% of the cells responsible for sperm production in this patient were stunted at an early developmental stage, unable to progress further.

The study found that puberty blockers can alter gene expression in endothelial and early-stage sperm cells, potentially disrupting their normal development and leading to issues like juvenile testicular atrophy and compromised fertility.

Many aspects of the long-term consequences of puberty blockers, given to thousands of adolescents off-label, remain unknown. This study contributes valuable insights into the potential irreversible harm these treatments can cause to bodily and reproductive functions.

One unique aspect of this study was that researchers had access to typically unavailable testicular tissues of minors.

The authors assert, “We provide unprecedented histological evidence revealing detrimental pediatric testicular sex gland responses to [puberty blockers].”