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Monthly Supplement
Hormone Replacement Therapy
by Jacqueline Lenart
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Research from the Women’s Health Initiative Memory Study (WHIMS) reported on May 28 that women 65 and older taking a form of estrogen and progestin hormone therapy called Prempro showed a heightened risk of developing dementia. The WHIMS was funded by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, which manufactures Prempro.
But the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) reported at its annual meeting that women with low bone mass in their late years might be at an even higher risk for developing dementia. AGS researchers believe the link between bone loss and dementia may not be cause and effect. AGS spokespeople instead say the relation with bone loss to memory loss in aging women could be due to a common midlife drop of endogenous estrogen.
Mike Clark of MD Hormone Solutions agrees. Clark says a lack of knowledge about hormone replacement has led to a fear among women. He says natural hormones do not have the same negative effects as the WHIMS reported and that his goal is to return men’s and women’s hormones to their optimal levels, not their super levels.
“We want to return levels to where they were when the patient was in their early to mid 20s, because that’s generally when your body is healthiest,” Clark says.
A comprehensive blood test is the key to determining hormone deficiencies and properly replacing them at the same level the body produces them, Clark says. Most patients will know something about their health is irregular, he explains, but they usually have no idea that their hormone levels are unbalanced. Healthy eating, exercise and hormone replacement are the basic elements Clark promotes for balance and good health.
Hormone replacement therapy is a lifetime commitment, Clark continues, explaining that if and when the hormone replacement stops, the levels will return to their original, imbalanced state. It usually takes new patients 60 to 90 days to begin seeing results.
As for over-the-counter hormones, Clark says, they’re not fit to a patient’s particular needs and are sold at such low levels of the hormone, that they generally have little or no effect.
The large interest in hormone replacement led the clinic to hold an informational seminar in June. Titled “The Big Lie,” the informational session addressed mistaken beliefs about hormones like: all are created equal; we should all learn to deal with becoming feeble as we age; and hormone replacement will detrimentally affect long-term health. Clark says if the heightened response to the study and questions continue, the clinic will most likely hold another seminar this month.
Truths patients are often unaware of, Clark says, are that pharmaceutical companies can’t patent hormones that exactly replicate what the body makes naturally and that bio-identical hormones or natural hormones are what perfectly match those produced by the body. Clark says that hormones decline as we age and anyone over 40 is an ideal candidate for hormone replacement. He says the clinic prefers to use preventive medicine but that it’s almost never too late to help someone using the therapy.
Clark says when hormones are optimized and balanced, people feel better, and that means a possible increased sex drive, loss of body fat, less fatigue, protection against the diseases of aging, and so much more.
For more information on WHIMS, visit www.nihgov; for more information about MD Hormone Solutions, call (512) 343-9525.
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