Study note 1
Video Link DA Expert Panel on Menopause and Hormone Replacement Therapy for Women https://www.fda.gov/patients/fda-expert-panels/fda-expert-panel-menopause-and-hormone-replacement-therapy-women-07172025
I have recently posted two articles about the female sex hormone, primarily referred to estrogen. The new FDA administration has taken action to remove the labeled warning of exaggerated risks on estrogen medicines. This warning has frighten millions of women away from estrogen hormone therapy for the past 23 years. As I turned my attention to male sex hormone therapy, which is, equally a fascinating story, I came across the video recording of FDA Panel Experts on Hormone Therapy for postmenopausal Women. On July 17, 2025, FDA convened the national top experts in estrogen hormone for women’s health, to form a panel, discussing their views on issues of the policy regulations on female hormones. Those panelists are all titanic figures in this field. In the meeting, those physicians, professors had 5 minute to present their insight views and advises for FDA. The oceans of knowledges from their lifetime research, and experiences of treating patients had to be distilled into the insightful extracts. As so, their views presented in meeting are undoubtedly “cream of the crop”. After watching the video recording a few times, felt compelled to share their views with friends,” ladies and gentlemen who love their ladies”, a quote from a panelist.
Speaking to the government policy regulators, they criticized the established regulation. Labeling the exaggerated warning have made physicians unwilling to treat their patients with estrogen hormone therapy, so that “actually harm their patients under the name of protecting women!”. Their pinpointed what barriers for treatments have been, and called on the removals, so millions of women will not suffer bone fracture, heart attack , stroke and other diseases.
Speaking to physician audience, they gave instrumental treatment advises, such as who should receive the hormone therapy, what type of hormone formulation, the protocol of treatment.
Speaking to the patient audience, they suggested that patients have to take initiative in learning , and discussing the information to their physicians. In the consideration for the hormone treatment, ladies need to be “self- dependent” one panelist put it, seeking helps from physicians. It is because their physicians may still be hesitated, or willing to adapt estrogen hormone therapy, due to the risk warnings which had been posted for past 23 years, even though the risks have been proved false. Ladies should not wait on sideline, because there is the age window of 50 to 59 for the health benefits of this hormone therapy. Passing this age window, no benefits have been observed.
The fear of the risks of estrogen therapy have lingered in people’s mind for those years, it is just not easy to overcome. In the past, I have been told by pharmacy consultation courses to recommend fluoxetine or other SSRI antidepression drugs for women having postmenopausal symptoms, rather than estrogen. Such a recommendation has been unambiguously criticized by experts in the meeting. The sharp turn is 180 degree. Even after FDA has removed the black boxed warning in November 2025, people are still in doubts. The flip-flop change of regulatory stance of FDA leads to a simple question — “Are you sure?”. For medical professionals, studying the speeches of those experts helps tremendously in gaining confidence on this therapy. After learning about the huge health benefits of this therapy, ladies will still be uncertain with many questions. Most of their questions should have answers found in the speeches from the experts.
I have the transcript of this meeting posted in this website, as well as the internet link for its FDA video recording. The transcript is lengthy, and a little nerdy. You would find the details with emotional stories, data interpretation and mind-enlightening explanations.
Naturally, we would have questions as follows:
In the past, we had been told that estrogen hormone therapy increased the life-threatening risks of heart attacks, strokes, breast cancer, Alzheimer’s disease. How can now all the risks be not only concluded faks, but all those risks can be reduced with this same therapy?
Everybody knows that breast cancer have been treated with medications lowering the body estrogen levels, because estrogen stimulates growth of breast cancer. Now you are telling me that estrogen therapy reduces the risk of breast cancer, you are telling that estrogen therapy reduces the mortality rate of breast cancer. All I thought about that it is like gas on fire when estrogen is placed on breast cancer. Make me believe you!
Why do women starting estrogen hormone therapy at ages between 50 and 59 or within 10 years of menopause can be benefited from this therapy, other women at older ages are not? What is your logic?
There are different types of female sex hormone, synthetic or natural of estrogen and progestin, in combination or just one hormone alone, do they all carry the same health benefits? Any of them can be safely used to benefit ladies age above 60?
There are pills, injectable, transdermal patches, topical cream, vaginal gels, which one should be better used? Why?
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The FDA panel experts answered those questions in their speech at this meeting, although the answers may be incomplete because each speaker was allowed 5 minute limit to talk. It would be my intention, if I have a chance, to explain questions/answers in more details in my future blogs, based on what I have learnt from the experts’ presentations.
PurenHealthInfo.com 