Marilynn Marchione is correct about the massive switch. In 2002, millions of women abandoned synthetic hormones, and embraced bioidentical hormones when a federal study, the Women's Health Initiative, found that a combination of premarin and provera caused cancer and heart disease. This NIH study used Prempro, a combination of Premarin and Provera, and was terminated early. The culprit was Provera, a synthetic, chemically altered form of progesterone, which has been known for decades to increase risk of cancer and heart disease. The form of estrogen used in the study was Premarin, a horse estrogen from pregnant horse urine. This massive switch to bioidenticals shows that women are smart. Two important things happened after this. Synthetic hormone drug maker Wyeth lost 4 billion dollars in sales, and secondly, breast cancer rates dropped precipitously when masses of women stopped synthetic hormones and started bioidenticals instead. This is illustrated on the chart below showing a decline in breast cancer rates when doctors stopped writing prescriptions for the "monster hormones" (Prempro) used in the WHI study.
However, instead of a safer option, (women) are getting products of unknown risk that still contain the estrogen many of them fear, women's health experts say.
Marilynn Marchione writes deliberate misinformation in the above statement. Bioidentical hormones (human estrogen and progesterone) are safer and healthier than the synthetic chemically altered "monster" hormones used in the Women's Health Initiative study. The safety of bioidentical hormones was demonstrated by the French Cohort study, which showed no increased cancer in the bioidentical group. In addition, Dr Holtorf's article cites 196 research studies comparing bio-identical hormones to synthetic patented hormones (like Provera). Dr Holtorf's article concludes ,"Bio-identical Hormones are associated with lower risk, and are more efficacious than synthetic counterparts. Until evidence is found to the contrary, bio-identical hormones remain the preferred method of HRT." See my article on the safety of bioidentical hormones for more on this topic.
"Bioidentical" is a marketing term that has no accepted medical meaning.
This statement is entirely wrong. The term bioidentical has a definite meaning and is widely used. The term, bioidentical, means a hormone chemical structure which is identical to that found in the human body. Both the Endocrine Society and ACOG define the term, "bioIdentical", exactly the same, even though the two definitions are worded differently. It is an embarrassment to medical science that the word BioIdentical has to be used at all. All hormones should have been manufactured as bio-identical hormones. However, because of U.S. patent law which prevents patenting a bioidentical hormone, the drug industry created chemically altered hormones which could be patented and sold at higher profit margins. These altered-synthetic hormones are monsters that should never have been approved by the FDA for human consumption.
...many prescription drugs contain hormones that chemically match estrogens and progesterones made naturally by the body.
This is correct. These bioidentical hormones have gone through the FDA approval process showing they are safe and effective. Here a list of FDA approved bioidentical hormones available at the corner drug store:
Alora (estradiol): FDA approved 1996 - Watson Labs
Climara (estradiol): FDA approved 1994 - Bayer
FemPatch : FDA approved 1997 - Parke Davis
Vivelle-Dot (estradiol): FDA approved 1994 - Novartis
Estraderm: FDA approved 1986 - Novartis
Esclim: FDA approved 1998 - Women's First Healthcare
Estrace (estradiol): FDA approved 1993 -Bristol Myers Squibb
Estring: FDA approved 1996 - Pharmacia UpJohn
Prometrium (progesterone): FDA approved 1998 - Solvay
Androgel (testosterone): FDA approved 2000
Unimed Crinone: FDA approved 1997 - Columbia Labs
FDA approved Estradiol containing products: Estrace, Progynova, estrofem, Alora, Climara, Vivelle, Vivelle-Dot, Menostar, Estraderm TTS Estrasorb Topical, Estrogel, Elestrin, Lunelle Estring, Femring
FDA approved Progesterone products: Prometrium, Utrogestan, Minagest, Microgest, CRINONE, PROCHIEVE, Cyclogest
FDA approved testosterone: Testoderm, Androderm, AndroGel
Custom-compounded hormones are not approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration and have not been proved safe or effective.
The above is a misleading and deceptive statement. Custom compounding is regulated at the state level, not by the federal government or the FDA. So, of course compounding is not FDA approved. No FDA approval is required for compounding. However, all the raw materials used in to make the compounded products are FDA approved.
Therefore Your Driver's License is Invalid
Marilynn Marchione's statement is the equivalent of saying your state drivers license is invalid because it was not issued by the federal government. This is nonsense. Driver licenses are regulated by the states, not the federal government.
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