UK study: Use of 'puberty blockers' by minors lowered their IQ, and 'may impact cognitive function'

A recent study published by Dr. Sallie Baxendale, professor of clinical neuropsychology at University College London, has called for "urgent" research to be conducted into the potentially devastating impact that so-called "puberty blocker" drugs have shown on the brain function of children.

According to The Daily Mail, the study described as "alarming" demonstrated that puberty blockers given to children confused about their gender significantly risks lowering their IQs, citing Professor Baxendale.

The lengthy study that focused on 25 girls under "treatment" with the drugs found that they averaged a seven-point drop in their IQs. One girl suffered what the study termed a "significant loss" in excess of 15 points and all of them suffered from "precocious puberty," the early onset of physical adulthood.

Baxendale wrote, "Young people and their families are unable to give truly informed consent for these treatments as their doctors cannot tell them what the long-term effects on their cognitive development will be."

She explained in the study's abstract: "There is no evidence that cognitive effects are fully reversible following discontinuation of treatment."

In the text of the study Baxendale detailed the loss of IQ, saying, "Whilst the average loss of IQ points was 7, it is noteworthy that at least one patient in this study experienced a significant loss of 15 points or more, since the highest IQ score in the group was 138 at baseline and this dropped to 123 following treatment."

She added that so-called "neurodiversity," or the presence of neurological conditions such as autism or bi-polar disorder, is "overrepresented in TGD ("transgender and gender diverse") people, who are three to six times more likely to have a diagnosis of autism than their peers." 

"Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is also overrepresented in this group. In addition to increased representation of neurodiverse conditions, the rates of mental health difficulties in this population are high," Baxendale noted, "with adolescents seeking gender-affirming treatments presenting with psychiatric symptoms and disorders comparable to those seen among adolescent psychiatric patients."

The professor pointed to the drugs, known as gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues, and "findings from multiple fields of study (neurodevelopment, neuroimaging, neuroendocrinology)" which indicated "an association between GnRH expression and brain function and structure," finding that "pubertal suppression may impact cognitive function." And again finding that there is "no evidence to date to support the oft cited assertion that the effects of puberty blockers are fully reversible."

The report from Dr. Baxendale appears to be largely underreported as of this article. However, multiple pro-transgender commentators on X appear to be actively seeking to brand her a "trans-exclusionary radical feminist" or "TERF," to delegitimize the findings of the professor of clinical neuropsychology with 180 clinical publications to her credit.