- Joined
- Feb 8, 2018
You're right they could very well be hispanic – Sephardic Jews (Southern Europe) tend to be darker skinned than Ashkenazi Jews (generally Central/Western Europe), and then there are the darker skinned Arab Jews (like Iraqis), and the very dark-skinned Ethiopian 'lost tribe', Beta Israel.also didn't know their family was Jewish. Is it just me, or does Jazz look kind of...dark? Grandma looks like stereotypical Jewish grandma to me, but I thought Jazz was Hispanic.
What would happen if he stopped be on blockers right now (or hormones, if he's on them)? Would he go through male puberty naturally? Could they induce it with testosterone shots? There are conditions where they have to do that, but I'm not sure how comparable it is.
The answer is a qualified yes. It's supposed to be entirely reversible, in that you will go through puberty if you stop using them. Histrelin is one of the common GnRH used as a puberty blocker (treats "precocious puberty" generally).
Quoting UCSF:
GnRH analogues offer a reversible intervention that allows youth temporary relief from an undesired, and potentially traumatic endogenous puberty. While data are sparse, preliminary results from the Netherlands indicate that behavioral problems and general psychological functioning improve while youth (age 12 and older) are undergoing puberty suppression.[10]
In order to avoid the development of undesired secondary sexual characteristics, GnRH analogues ideally are initiated at the earliest stages of puberty (Tanner 2-3).[11]
Youth cannot remain on GnRH analogues alone indefinitely, as bone mineralization relies on the presence of sex steroids. While clinically becoming increasingly common, the impact of GnRH analogues administered to transgender youth in early puberty and <12 years of age has not been published. While rare, reported side effects from the use GnRH analogues may include diminished bone mineral density acquisition, weight gain, abscesses at the site of injection (if injectable form is used), irregular vaginal bleeding, and emotional lability.
Also a cursory search I did found studies where GnRH intervention for prostate cancer treatment (in adult men) produced reversible results, as well as in other animals. Many studies are for cancer because the drugs are primarily used to treat hormone-sensitive cancers for short time periods. But of course all of these were in adults who had already sexually matured. Interestingly, there was a study in mature female horses that found the time to reversal was more delayed the younger the horse was.
GnRH treatment isn't supposed to be for long periods of time and like stated above, there aren't comprehensive studies on the effects yet. The ideal is to have GnRH only until the gonads can be removed:
No consensus exists on the length of time GnRH analogues should continue after youth begin gender-affirming hormones. The Dutch Model follows a protocol in which simultaneous GnRH analogues and gender-affirming hormones continues until transgender individuals have their gonads removed. This model is appropriate in the Netherlands, where gonadectomy is easier to access at the age of 18 years old [...] gonadectomy is not necessarily desirable for all transgender persons, especially if future fertility is desired.
There's also this warning about the potential negative effects on mental health for delaying puberty:
Experiencing puberty in the last years of high school or early college years presents multiple potential challenges. The emotional upheaval that occurs for youth undergoing puberty happens normally at 11 or 12 years of age. For those youth who struggle with emotional lability at that age, they do so in a relatively protected environment, regulated by parents/caregivers, and without access to potential dangers such as motor vehicles, drugs, alcohol and adult (or almost adult) peers and sexual partners. Having the physical appearance of a sexually immature 11 year old in high school can present emotional and social challenges that are amplified by gender dysphoria.
So yes it's supposed to be reversible but:
- longer time periods of treatment aren't well studied and their effects aren't well understood
- the younger the individual is when they start GnRH treatment, the harder it might be and longer it might take for reversal of effects
- even if effects can be reversed, the onset of delayed puberty might have a much worse outcome
- starting GnRH along with hormone treatment might cause genital atrophy so that even when allowed to go through puberty, the child might not regain um... their total potential size and function
- stopping GnRH once gonads are removed as recommended still won't give them true puberty of the opposite sex because they lack the opposite sex's organs that are highly involved in hormone production and signalling (e.g. ovaries, testes)