Children will be recruited to a trial with the agreement of their parents and NHS gender services.
The NHS is funding a £10 million research project, led by King's College London and lasting until 2031, to study children's gender care, including a trial into puberty blockers. The trial, part of a wider "Pathways study," will monitor the physical, social, and emotional well-being of children on puberty blockers, while other research will track children attending NHS gender clinics and assess the impact of puberty blockers on thinking and brain development. This research follows the Cass Review, which highlighted the poor quality of existing studies on puberty blockers and aims to address gaps in knowledge and uncertainty about their efficacy.
