Daily Mail - 27.08.2019

Page 23

pound medication that the BMS

and RCOG took the unusual step

of releasing a joint warning.

They said that cBHRT may not

be sterile if packed improperly

and that women may not be pre-

scribed the correct dose.

There is also a lack of scientific

testing in the compounded prod-

uct, and the risks of using the

treatment are not clearly outlined

on the label.

Experts advised women to use

regulated bioidentical HRT

(rBHRT), which is available on

the NHS and licensed by the med-

icines regulator.

The warnings come just days

after the Daily Mail reported that

shortages of HRT medication were

forcing desperate women to seek

menopause treatment abroad.

Most Evorel patches – the UK

market leader – have disappeared

from shelves and women are buy-

ing patches in bulk for their friends

while on holiday in Spain.

Haitham Hamoda of the BMS

told The Guardian: ‘Every expert

in the field shares the same view

and concerns about compounded

hormones: it’s unsafe, untested

and unnecessary.

‘We are concerned by its purity,

potency and safety. You can get

bioidentical HRT on the NHS

[but] the key thing is that it’s not

compounded... rBHRT is pre-

scribed and manufactured under

very strict regulations. In con-

trast, there is no medical evidence

to support cBHRT.’

He added that compounded

products can cause a cancer risk

because the dose of oestrogen

may be higher or lower than nec-

essary to control symptoms of the

menopause, and the dose of pro-

gesterone may not be enough to

protect the womb.

But London’s Marion Gluck

Clinic, which specialises in the

compounded hormone treatment,

defended the therapy.

It said it is registered with the

Care Quality Commission and

that cBHRT was always carried

out under the strict supervision of

a qualified pharmacist on a named

patient basis.

The popularity of the compound

medication grew following reports

in 2002 that conventional HRT

carried a cancer risk.

Promotion of the product as

being safer than rBHRT was

banned by the Advertising Stand-

ards Authority two years ago.

AN increasingly popular

type of HRT medication is

unsafe and could even

increase the risk of cancer,

experts warned last night.

Women were told to avoid

using combinations of hor-

mones, tailor-made for each

individual in private clinics,

known as compounded bio-

identical hormone replacement

therapy (cBHRT).

The expensive, unregulated

treatment has risen in popularity

due to aggressive marketing to

consumers. In addition, getting

hold of commonly-prescribed

HRT drugs from the NHS has

become increasingly difficult due

to shortages – even driving some

women to shop online and over-

seas for their medication.

More than half of women on

HRT are prescribed patches to

alleviate crippling menopause

symptoms, which are applied once

or twice a week below the waist.

Experts at the British Meno-

pause Society (BMS) and the

Royal College of Obstetricians

and Gynaecologists (RCOG) have

warned of potential impurities in

cBHRT. Such is the concern about

the increasing use of the com-

By George Odling

By Eleanor Sharples

Ship mates: David and Victoria with Sir Elton and David Furnish

Picture: MEGA

Out for the count: Beckham takes a nap

ELTON John and Victoria

Beckham decided to

hang back yesterday as

they watched their chil-

dren dive into the water

• along with Victoria’s
  husband David.
  The Beckham clan
  joined Sir Elton, 72, his
  husband David Furnish,
  56, and their sons Zach-
  ary, eight, and Elijah, six,
  on the family’s yacht in
  the Cote d’Azur.
  David, 44, took the hand
  of his daughter Harper,
  eight, as they plunged
  into the water to cool off.
  The former England cap-
  tain’s friendship with Sir

Elton goes back for more

than two decades.

Paying tribute to the

pop legend on Insta-

gram, he wrote: ‘Gor-

geous day with Elton

John and David Furnish –

24 years we have known

each other and we laugh

like it’s day one.’

The ex-midfielder was

later snapped snoozing

in a rather bold £930

Versace shirt by his fash-

ion designer wife, 45.

She shared the photo-

graph online with the

caption: ‘Kisses.’

Daily Mail, Tuesday, August 27, 2019
QQQ

From the Mail, August 12 From Saturday’s Mail

Splosh and Becks!

Star takes a dive

off Elton’s yacht

Warning over ‘unsafe’

private HRT drugs

FthMilA t12 From Saturday’s Mail

HRT CRISIS

AS PATCHES

RUN OUT

ON HIGH ST

DOCTORS

DELUGED IN

HRT CRISIS