The article entitled "Medical experts warn against bioidentical hormones" (IR, 10/27) is clarified by the different title in the online version of the article, "Bioidenticals not FDA approved." On the one hand, it would be silly to warn women against bioidenticals. The phrase means a substance identical to that which the body produces. It makes sense that something the body recognizes as its own would be less dangerous than hormones foreign to human metabolism. On the other hand, Suzanne Sommers is encouraging women to take bioidenticals through the entire life span to keep us young and menstruating. That's silly too. As usual, I'm sitting in the middle.

We know bioidenticals are safe because our body makes them. Nonetheless, when adding hormones from any outside source, we will be safer if we assume that these substances have all the risks of horse and synthetic hormones - substances foreign to our bodies. Premarin (8 conjugated equine hormones) and Provera (a synthetic progestin) were proven in a trial of 10,000 women to increase heart attack, stroke, adverse clotting events and breast cancer.

So why are Premarin and Provera FDA approved and bioidenticals from compounding pharmacies not approved? That's not a medical question, that's about drug company marketing.

Dr. Nancy Aagenes

P. O. Box 1839