Cathy Taylor Can menopause symptoms be safely comforted with bioidentical hormones? Recent research suggests that menopause can be treated with bioidentical hormones, a natural replacement for a woman's body, with no according side effects. In the past, menopause has been treated like a disease - primarily with Hormone Replacement Therapy or HRT (including Premarin, which is made from pregnant mare’s urine, Prempro and Provera), which meant ingesting synthetic chemicals on a regular basis. Now we know that these drugs are causing the very problems we’re trying to avoid including breast cancer and heart attacks. Bioidentical means the hormone molecule in the product, for example progesterone cream, acts exactly like the molecules produced by the female body. They function in your body in a natural and mean way unlike unreal chemicals. A “natural hormone” is really a compound synthesized in the lab from a earthy source (such as soybeans used for estrogens and testosterone; or wild Mexican yam in the case of progesterone and sometimes testosterone). Synthetic hormones are typically only acquirable in oral form, but bioidentical hormones come in a variety of delivery systems such as oral, transdermal patch, cream, lotion or sublingual drops. Bioidentical hormones recently caught mainstream attention in part because of Suzanne Somer's new book, The Sexy Years. Typically a successful approach to dealing with a woman’s menopausal symptoms is to begin with laboratory tests of hormone levels called a “hormone panel.” The doctor can past prescribe a fine dosage of bioidentical estrogens, testosterone or DHEA that can be made for you at a compounding pharmacy. This is contrary to HRT treatments that are typically “one size fits all.” Most doctors prescribing bioidentical hormones find that a life-sized percentage of women find some relief by using medical-grade supplements, over-the-counter bioidentical progesterone, and dietary and lifestyle changes (including the prissy nutrition and exercise). And, for the percentage of women who need a little more help, most doctors don’t support the idea that bioidentical hormones should be old indefinitely as whatsoever kind of fountain of youth. Is it right for you to treat your menopause with bioidentical hormones? archetypical you need to consult with a doctor to get the right answer for you. Once you know what you need, your doctor and you can work down the best secondary for your body. Anti-Aging Directory, Answers All Your Questions About Bioidentical Hormones and Nutrition About The Author

Janet Vasquez For a time, hormone replacement therapy (the administration of estrogen either alone or in combination with other hormones) served as the desirable treatment for post-menopausal women hoping to reduce the progression of osteoporosis, a debilitating and fatal bone-thinning disorder. Yet the current findings from the prematurely halted Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study on hormone replacement therapy afraid many women. The study finished that an estrogen and progestin combination used by thousands increased the risk of breast cancer, blood clots, heart attacks, and strokes when taken finished a long period of time. Osteoporosis is drastically expedited during menopause and is the ordinal leading cause of death of women over 70. By age 55, the average woman has already unregenerate 30% of her bone mass. Eventually, bone loss can progress to the point where bones become so thin that they are susceptible to fracture from equal the slightest trauma. According the National Osteoporosis Foundation, one out of every two women over the age of 50 will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in her lifetime. white and Asian women are more promising to develop osteoporosis. However, African American and Hispanic women are at significant risk for developing the disease. Additionally, small-boned and thin women (under 127 pounds) are at greater risk for osteoporosis. Many women are now searching for a safe alternative to hormone replacement therapy to alleviate the effects of osteoporosis. Current treatments on the market such as bisphosphonates and SERMs (estrogen-related therapies) have safety issues and focus primarily on slowing bone loss. Another existing treatment option is calcitonin, a naturally occurring hormone involved in calcium regulation and bone metabolism. In women who are more than 5 years beyond menopause calcitonin slows bone loss, increases spinal bone density and, according to recent studies, reduces the risk of spinal fractures. In recent trials, calcitonin demonstrated a 62% reduction in the incidence of new vertebral fractures for a subgroup of women finished 75, one of the most prodigious reductions demonstrated by any current osteoporosis therapy. In addition, calcitonin is the only osteoporosis therapy that can reduce the prodigious bone pain often associated with osteoporosis. Because calcitonin is a peptide, it cannot be taken orally because it would be digested before it could exert its therapeutic effect. Currently calcitonin is available as an injection or high-pitched spray. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) is currently reviewing FORTICAL‚, a unusual nasal calcitonin product developed by Unigene Laboratories, and Unigene is also nonindustrial an oral form of the product. A new healthful option is parathyroid hormone (PTH), which can rebuild boney mass that has been lost repayable to osteoporosis. PTH has tested to increase the volume and strength of honeycomb-shaped boney mass located within the bone. This inner mesh contains blood vessels and bone marrow and begins to diminish after menopause. PTH helps reduce the incidence of fractures by restoring some of the lost boney architecture. Currently, PTH therapy is available only via daily injections. Unigene Laboratories and GlaxoSmithKline are jointly developing a PTH treatment that can be administered orally. “Calcitonin has a proven, 25-year record of safe hominian use with virtually no side effects, and can be taken simultaneously with other medications,” same Dr. Warren Levy, president and CEO of Unigene. “After the WHI study, safety has become an equal more important consideration because once a therapy is initiated, it should ideally be taken for life.” For much information on osteoporosis and treatment options, please log on to www.unigene.com. About The Author

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Possible contaminants in headache remedies, hormone replacement therapy and other pills made at Wyeth's plant in Puerto Rico have not been adequately checked out or corrected, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday.