Hormone Therapy

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Hormone imbalances can present as a wide variety of symptoms, from PMS to depression, as well as weight gain, headaches, sleeplessness, anxiety, decreased sex drive, fatigue, dry hair or skin, even hair loss. These symptoms can be very distressing to many women and have significant impacts on their quality of life. 

Hormone therapy has been the subject of a great deal of misinformation and confusion in the past 20 years. The Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) Study of 1991 caused confusion and widespread panic among patients and practitioners. But it was flawed. It focused on synthetic estrogen-only treatments in (older) postmenopausal women. It failed to consider the inherent weaknesses of synthetic estrogens and that the age of the subjects predisposed them to such risks. In March 2004, that part of the study was also closedown. The press release announced that: "After careful consideration of the data, NIH has concluded that with an average of nearly 7 years of follow-up completed, estrogen alone does not appear to affect (either increase or decrease) heart disease, a key question of the study. It has not increased the risk of breast cancer during the time period of the study."

Synthetic hormones have a chemical structure that may be similar to but are not exactly the same as the hormones produced by the body. Bio-identical hormones are structurally identical to the hormones your own body produces. These differ from synthetic hormones used in traditional HRT. Premarin is derived from pregnant horse urine, whereas BHRT uses hormones which are derived from the diosgenin in Mexican yams. These chemical differences can mean that synthetic hormones act differently in the body and can result in a variety of different side effects. Because bio-identical hormones replicate your own hormones incredibly closely, we find the side effects which are commonly associated with synthetic hormones aren’t experienced, making BHRT a more appealing treatment method for many patients.

Hormone treatments such as Premarin, Prempro and Ceestin are synthetic, i.e. they are not true hormones. Molecular differences between synthetic progestins and progesterone result in differences in their pharmacological effects on breast tissue. Some of the pro-carcinogenic effects of synthetic progestins contrast with the anti-carcinogenic properties of progesterone, which result in disparate clinical effects on the risk of breast cancer. In other words, bio-identical hormones are associated with lower risks of breast cancer and cardiovascular disease, and are more efficacious than their synthetic and animal derived counterparts.

20 years of physiological data and clinical outcomes demonstrate that bio-identical hormones are associated with lower risks of breast cancer and cardiovascular disease, and are more efficacious than their synthetic and minimal derived counterparts.

– Molecular differences between synthetic progestins and progesterone result in differences in their pharmacological effects on breast tissue. Some of the pro-carcinogenic effects of synthetic progestins contrast with the anti-carcinogenic properties of progesterone, which result in disparate clinical effects on the risk of breast cancer.

– Progesterone has an anti-proliferative, anti-estrogenic effect on both the endometrium and breast tissue, while synthetic progestins have anti-proliferative, anti-estrogenic effects on endometrial tissue, but often have a proliferative estrogenic effect on breast tissue.

– Bio-identical progesterone, compared with MPA, is associated with greater efficacy, patient satisfaction and quality of life.

– Synthetic progestins show increased estrogen-induced breast tissue proliferation and a risk for breast cancer, whereas progesterone inhibits breast tissue proliferation and reduces the risk for breast cancer.

– In cardiovascular disease, synthetic progestins, as opposed to progesterone,

negate the beneficial lipid and vascular effects of estrogen.

– Transdermal bio-identical estrogen and progesterone are associated with beneficial cardiovascular and metabolic effects compared with the use of oral estrogens (especially CEE) and synthetic progestins.

BENEFITS OF BIO-IDENTICAL HORMONES

• Improves aging changes

• Relieves symptoms of menopause and perimenopause

• Reduced risk of osteoporosis and osteopenia and improved bone density

• Substantially reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s & diseases associated with cognitive decline

• Improves mood and energy levels

• Improves muscle mass and overall strength

• Reduces risk of endometrial cancer and breast cancer

• Improves cholesterol levels and reduces the risk for developing heart disease

• Improves sleep

• Increases sexual vitality and libido