<unk>  <unk> , also known as<unk>  hormone therapy or natural hormone therapy, is the use of hormones that are identical on a molecular level with endogenous hormones in hormone<unk>  therapy. It may also be combined with blood and saliva testing of hormone levels, and the use of pharmacy compounding to obtain hormones in an effort to reach a targeted level of hormones in the body. A number of claims by some proponents of<unk>  have not been confirmed through scientific testing. Specific hormones used in BHT include estrone, estradiol, progesterone (which are available both in FDA-approved manufactured products and as pharmacy-compounded products), testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) (both testosterone and DHEA have some stringent limits placed on their availability and approval in Canada and the United States), and estriol (which is available in Europe but is not approved in Canada and the United States). Custom-compounded BHT is a practice almost wholly restricted to the United States. Compounded BHT is a form of alternative medicine. It has been promoted as a panacea for many diseases and for relieving the symptoms of menopause, beyond the medical objective of reducing the risk of osteoporosis. There is little evidence to support these incremental claims; the hormones are expected to have the same risks and benefits of comparable approved drugs for which there is evidence based on extensive research and regulation. The exception is progesterone, which may have an improved safety profile than artificial progestogens, though direct comparisons with progestins have not been made. Risks associated with the less-controlled process of compounding<unk>  hormones are not clearly understood. In addition, the accuracy and efficacy of saliva testing has not been definitively proven, and the long-term effects of using blood testing to reach target levels of hormones have not been researched. The International Menopause Society, American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, The Endocrine Society, the North American Menopause Society (NAMS), United States Food and Drug Administration, American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, American Medical Association, American Cancer Society and the Mayo Clinic have released statements that there is a lack of evidence that the benefits and risks of<unk>  hormones are different from well-studied non-bioidentical counterparts; until such evidence is produced the risks should be treated as if they are similar; and that compounded hormone products may have additional risks related to compounding. A major safety concern in compounded BHT is that there is no requirement to include package inserts, despite the potential for serious adverse effects (including life-threatening adverse effects) associated with HRT. This can lead to consumers being deceived (and harmed), as they are misled into believing that any hormone-related problems and dangers are exclusively related to non-bioidentical hormones, and that compounded BHT is therefore safe and has no side effects. In reality, the risks of<unk>  hormones have not been studied to the extent of non-bioidentical hormones, so the risks are not well-understood. Regulatory bodies require pharmacies to include important safety information with conventional hormone<unk>  therapy (CHRT) via package inserts.
Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy
Masculinizing hormone therapy
Transgender hormone therapy
Androgen replacement therapy
Feminizing hormone therapy
Androgen deprivation therapy
Sex reassignment therapy
Estrogen deprivation therapy