Clinical Advisory Network on Sex and Gender
Prompted by the MHRA decision to pause and review the PATHWAYS puberty blocker trial, CAN-SG wrote to the MHRA detailing concerns and providing further information regarding safety issues. The CAN-SG letter argues that the trial lacks a justified risk-benefit balance, posing ethical challenges.
A free online webinar on October 28, 2025, discusses obstacles faced by researchers in sex and gender due to pressures on academic freedom. Panelists, including experts in medicine, sociology, psychology, and philosophy, will share experiences and explore solutions.
This was the central question that experts debated at a special CAN-SG webinar earlier this week (16th Sept) and their answer was a resounding ‘no’. They agreed that the government’s plan to run a clinical trial on children with gender distress to determine whether puberty blockers (PBs) are safe raises too many ethical and methodological problems […]
This article by Dr David Bell and Dr Sinead Helyar examines concerns regarding a proposed clinical trial of puberty blockers (PBs) for children with gender dysphoria. It argues that a PB trial would pose unacceptable risks and contravene ethical standards. The authors advocate alternative avenues for research and safer treatment methods for this vulnerable group of children.
The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) has suppressed evidence that contradicts its policies, influenced by activist clinicians. Unsealed documents reveal WPATH’s efforts to control Johns Hopkins University’s research findings and remove age thresholds for treatments. WPATH’s guidelines lack rigour and evidence transparency, and its influence in the World Health Organization transgender guideline development group poses reputational risk to WHO. The revelations suggest a need for health providers to disassociate from WPATH’s influence to avoid potential harm and legal issues.
The review of the literature found that no well-designed studies have ever been conducted to properly assess the impact of puberty blockers on cognitive function.
Our current understanding of the importance of puberty in the development of cognitive function, animal studies and very limited data from human studies do not support the notion that puberty blockers have no impact on cognitive development or that any effects are reversible.
Indeed, the evidence to date points in the other direction.