The following message is provided by International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists. January 30, 2009 Oprah Winfrey Continues BHRT Discussion  On Jan. 29, dozens of women joined in the audience and on webcams for part two of the BHRT debate on "The Oprah Winfrey Show." Suzanne Somers, a long-time advocate for bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT), shared her story with the "Oprah" audience. Robin McGraw, Dr. Phil's wife and a BHRT patient, and Dr. Christiane Northrup, renowned author and speaker, started the conversation a couple weeks ago when they joined Oprah to talk about BHRT. Women across the country wrote in to "The Oprah Show" wanting more information on how to take control of their menopause symptoms. Somers shared her experience being treated by her physician with BHRT to alleviate her menopause symptoms. She also demonstrated her daily regimen of compounded medications and dietary supplements. "By replacing my hormones with bioidentical hormones, I got my life back. I got my health back, I got my figure back, I got my happiness back," Somers said. Oprah stressed that women "have the right to demand a better quality of life" and they should all do their research. However, positive praise of BHRT was also met with harsh criticism when Dr. Lauren Streicher, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University and a practicing ob-gyn at Chicago's Northwestern Memorial Hospital, expressed her dislike for compounding pharmacies. To be certain, Dr. Streicher's commentary was the most grievous offense contained in the episode on compounding pharmacies. She misstated facts and presented a distorted picture of pharmacy compounding and how the profession is regulated. Today IACP sent a formal letter to the producers of "The Oprah Show" to dispel the untruths presented by Dr. Streicher. (See below for full commentary.) Hoping to clear up the confusion about compounding pharmacies, Dr. Mehmet Oz visited Central Pharmacy in Santa Monica, Calif., where he interviewed Sharon Steen, owner of the compounding pharmacy. Steen estimated that 90 percent of the medications her pharmacy compounds are BHRT. A pharmacist and technician demonstrated how a hormone cream is prepared. At the end of the show, a taped segment featured a woman who shared her struggles with menopause on part one of the BHRT debate that aired Jan. 15. Robin McGraw escorted the woman to have her hormone levels checked. It was determine that she needed BHRT, and only nine days later she was noticing the difference. "The side effect from the bioidentical hormones is a big dose of joy. It's fantastic," she told Oprah via webcam. To view segments and read about what was discussed on the show, click here. IACP Responds to Oprah  The IACP responded to "The Oprah Winfrey Show" with a formal letter correcting the misstatements made by Dr. Lauren Streicher on the show. Among other concerns, IACP was most disturbed by Streicher's suggestions: She drew a false distinction between "FDA-approved pharmacies and non-FDA approved pharmacies," and insinuated that compounding pharmacies are not approved by the FDA. In fact, there is no such thing as an FDA-approved pharmacy. All pharmacies are registered, inspected, and regulated by state boards of pharmacy ;including compounding pharmacies. "They (compounding pharmacists) have no obligation to support their claims. The can say what they want... The truth is, you can get the exact same product in an FDA-approved pharmacy from true experts." Actually, the truth is pharmacies cannot say whatever they want. They cannot give false or misleading information without facing potential enforcement action by FDA, FTC, and the state board of pharmacy. Further, it is true that some bioidentical hormones are now manufactured by FDA-registered manufacturers and dispensed by state board registered pharmacies. These meet the needs of some patients. For other patients, they are prescribed compounded doses and dosage forms that must be compounded by a specialty pharmacy. She misstated that all synthetic hormones were plant-derivatives. This is not the case. For example, some of the most widely prescribed synthetic hormones are conjugated estrogens derived from horse urine. These are not biological equivalents as are estradiol or estriol. She suggested bioidentical hormones are generally obtained directly from compounding pharmacies. Bioidentical estrogens, whether compounded or manufactured, may only be dispensed to a patient pursuant to a valid prescription from a licensed prescriber (physician, nurse practitioner, etc). Dispensing these medications without a valid prescription is a violation of both federal and state law. Click here to read IACP's letter to Oprah Winfrey and her show producers.

.