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Bio identical hormone replacement therapy

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  • 18-07-2010 3:07am
    #1
    Charisma
    Registered Users Posts: 97 ✭✭


    This is used as a natural HRT for menopause. I cant use ordinary HRT due to increased breast cancer risk having had cancer elsewhere last year. BHRT is readily available in the USA and is proving to be a great success but are there any clinics/doctors in Ireland, especially Dublin perscribing it yet.
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    #2
    lonestargirl
    Registered Users Posts: 1,501 ✭✭✭lonestargirl


    I doubt it, it's an alternative medication with no evidence to support it's use. I can't see the Irish Medicines Board ever licensing something like this.

    I did a PubMed search and there have only been 4 articles published on it, none of them investigating it's use instead of HRT, 2 don't have abstracts and the other 2 are:

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18075509
    The term 'bioidentical' hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) is widely misunderstood by the patient population and misrepresented in patient literature. Within the clinical community, BHRT is currently being prescribed by some as an 'innovative therapy' with no published evidence in peer-reviewed journals that it is better than the current standard of care; in at least one case, BHRT is being used as a study agent in unregulated and unethical research involving very high doses of estrogen and progesterone. Additionally, professional ethics problems abound within the prescribing population, since those claiming expertise and training in BHRT vary widely in competencies, may cross practice boundaries, and may have overt conflicts of interest if they are selling or promoting their own for-profit recipes of BHRT on commercial forums. Ultimately, BHRT presents clinical, research and professional ethics problems that are discussed in depth.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17107222
    Recent clinical trials have demonstrated an increase in the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in women using oral hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Bio-identical HRT (BHRT) is widely used by alternative healthcare practitioners for the treatment of symptoms of menopause, with the prevailing assumption that BHRT provides the benefits of HRT while attenuating the risks. However, considering the serious risks of HRT, the use of any form of HRT, including BHRT, without sufficient scientific evaluation may create considerable risk.The main hormone found in BHRT is estriol. Estriol is used alone or in combination with estradiol and estrone. The total daily oral dose of BHRT used is, on average, ten times higher than that used in HRT, and both oral and topical forms are used for bio-identical hormone administration. The clinical trials that have examined cardiovascular outcomes associated with estriol therapy are limited, and there is evidence to demonstrate variable effects on markers associated with cardiovascular risk.Based on the current evidence, the same cardiovascular risks that have recently been found to be associated with oral HRT may also be associated with the administration of oral estriol in BHRT. The use of oral bio-identical hormones cannot be promoted until further evidence is available to demonstrate its safety.


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