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New Analysis Finds Bioidentical Hormones Safer Than Standard Hormone Replacement Therapy

Posted on: Monday, 23 February 2009, 09:59 CST

Comprehensive review demonstrates bioidentical hormones are superior to synthetic HRT with greater cardiovascular benefits and reduced risk of breast cancer

TORRANCE, Calif., Feb. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- The most comprehensive analysis to date, published in the Postgraduate Medical Journal, a leading peer-reviewed publication for practicing clinicians, showed that bioidentical hormones are associated with reduced health risks and are more efficacious than their synthetic counterparts. Conducted by a leading expert in hormone replacement, Kent Holtorf, M.D., medical director of the Holtorf Medical Group in Torrance, California, the paper reviewed and evaluated results from more than 200 physiological and clinical studies. It demonstrated that bioidentical hormone replacement therapy is both more effective and has greater health benefits for women suffering with symptoms of menopause than hormone replacement therapy with synthetic hormones. Synthetic forms of hormone replacement therapy prescribe substances such as Premarin, Provera and Prempro and present real health risks with increased risks of breast cancer, stroke and heart attack.

"Many physicians and so-called experts state that there is no evidence that bioidentical hormones are safer than synthetic HRT. A thorough review of the medical literature, however, clearly supports the claim that bioidentical hormones have some distinctly different, often opposite, physiological effects to those of their synthetic hormones," said Dr. Holtorf, whose practice treats more than 7,000 patients each year. "The medical literature demonstrates that bioidentical hormone replacement therapy is highly effective and carries a reduced, rather than an increased risk of breast cancer and cardiovascular disease."

The review also showed that patients undergoing bioidentical HRT were less likely to experience sleep problems, anxiety, depression and cognitive effects - common side effects of synthetic hormones and are associated with a reduced risk for breast cancer and superior cardiovascular protection.

"While larger, randomized clinical studies are needed, the review of current medical literature demonstrates that bioidentical hormones are a safer, highly effective option for women, and any physician that is practicing evidence-based medicine should be using bioidentical hormone replacement for their patients," said Dr. Holtorf.

Synthetic HRT preparations, which are the most commonly prescribed method of HRT in the United States, are comprised of pregnant horse hormones that are not found in the human body or synthetic hormones that have physiologic effects that mimic or mirror the natural estrogen or progesterone effects in the body. In contrast, bioidentical hormone replacement contains molecules that are exact replicas of the endogenous estrogens and progesterone found in the body and, as such, have distinctly different physiological effects than their synthetic counterparts.

The Holtorf Medical Group is one of the leading authorities on hormone replacement and has been educating patients on the superiority and safety of natural hormones versus synthetic for many years. Dr. Holtorf is available to discuss the FDA's move to halt the use of bioidentical hormones while promoting synthetic hormone therapy, and why discouraging healthcare professionals from using this treatment threatens the health of women everywhere. In addition, Dr. Holtorf can dispel the common misconceptions associated with bioidentical hormone treatment and discuss the significant health benefits patients can expect from this treatment compared to synthetic versions of HRT. For more information or for a copy of the study go to www.HoltorfMed.com.

SOURCE The Holtorf Medical Group

Source: PR Newswire

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