BIO-IDENTICAL HORMONES

Recently, the use of synthetic hormone replacement therapy (HRT) came under fire due to a large, clinical trial of synthetic HRT in post-menopausal women conducted by the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI). The study was stopped early when it showed an increased risk of breast cancer, blood clots, heart disease, and strokes in women using Prempro™ (a combination of estrogen and progestin).

Many authorities believe this was a poorly designed study with many flaws. One of the major concern was Provera and Premarin are not bio-identical hormones of progesterone and estrogen. Premarin is made from horse’s urine and contains only three compounds of many that match human estrogen. Another concern was that all patients received the same amount of estrogen with no consideration given to adjusting dosing based upon blood results, which could have lead to very high levels of estrogen and progesterone.

We believe that bio-identical estrogen and progesterone replacement therapy that is performed in a controlled clinical setting where therapeutic levels are closely monitored and dosing adjusted can significantly improve a women’s life. Biologically identical estrogen is derived from wild yams or soybean plants. The wild yam is rich in precursor molecules that can be converted into estrogens and other hormones whose molecular structure is the same as those produced naturally in the human body.