Taken from a recent news release...
Two weeks ago, the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
convened a panel of medical experts to discuss the pro's and
con's of some of the more common menopausal treatments. With
38 million women in America entering pre-menopause or
menopause this year, this is one topic that the female
healthcare consumer has a vested interest in learning more
about. You would think so would their doctors.
"Unfortunately", according to C.W. Randolph, Jr., M.D.,
"most of the medical community continues to 'miss the boat'
when it comes to understanding how to safely and effectively
treat hormonal imbalances and menopausal symptoms". Dr.
Randolph, a practicing gynecologist and recognized expert in
the fields of women's health and natural medicine, said in an
interview today that "I was both concerned and disappointed
when I reviewed the NIH's agenda and listened to the audio
transcripts of the recent State-of-the-Science Conference on
Management of Menopause-Related Symptoms. It is
incomprehensible to me that a panel of so-called medical
experts could speak to the topic of menopausal treatments
without discussing the benefits of
bio-identical/human-identical hormone therapies."
In 2002, the Women's Health Initiative Study (WHI) which
had been funded by the NIH was disbanded because researchers
found that synthetic estrogen plus synthetic progestin
sometimes caused potentially lethal side effects including
breast and uterine cancer, as well as stroke, heart attacks
and Alzheimer's disease. It is not surprising that, when this
data was released, the millions of women on synthetic hormone
replacement therapy were "scared witless" and most of the
medical community was legitimately confused.
"I consider it egregious that, after so much evidence
regarding their serious health risks, the NIH would host a
forum touting the therapeutic benefits of low dose synthetic
hormones. Moreover, I was incredulous to discover that the
conference agenda included presentations on the benefits of
treating symptoms of hormone imbalance with alternative
therapies such as herbs, acupuncture, magnets, reflexology and
homeopathy while it omitted any reference to the substantive
medical research supporting the safety and efficacy of bio-
identical/human-identical hormone replacement".
Dr. Randolph continued, "As a physician and scientist, I
would expect the NIH to offer a more balanced representation
of the full scope of scientific data, as well as a more
comprehensive examination of all menopausal treatment options.
In light of this recent conference, I would dare to ask the
following questions:
1. Why doesn't the NIH include the research and debate on
the benefits of bio-identical/human- identical HRT vs.
synthetic HRT in their agenda? There are dozens of noted
medical experts with sound research to choose from in this
field: Joel Hargove, M.D., Vanderbilt University or Jeanne
Drisko, M.D., University of Kansas, to name two.
2. Bio-identical/human-identical hormones are compounded in
a laboratory but they can not be patented. Does the fact that
pharmaceutical companies derive profit from the patenting of
synthetic hormones influence what studies are funded and
discussed?
3. Why are women learning more about the option of
human-identical/bio-identical hormone therapies from "the
stars" like Dr. Phil and Robin McGraw or Suzanne Somers than
they are from the medical community?
4. How can informed physicians and healthcare consumers
work together to demand more information, education and
research on the benefits of bio-identical/human-identical
hormone therapies?"
Dr. Randolph concluded by saying, "My patients on
human-identical HRT don't have side effects. They tell me that
their menopausal symptoms are alleviated and they finally
'feel as if they have their lives back'. I think that, if the
NIH won't help get the word out, then the media should. I am
sure once they hear any information on
bio-identical/human-identical hormone therapies, many of those
38.5 million women entering menopause- and hopefully also
their physicians- will want to know more".
As a woman enters her
mid-thirties and until she is in her late forties, she can be
said to be pre-menopausal. A woman in this lifecycle is in her
middle reproductive years. It is during these years that the
balance of hormones produced by the endocrine system first
begins to shift. Progesterone, the "feel good" hormone, is the
first hormone to decline and drops 120 times more rapidly than
estrogen.
