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PremPro®
PremPro® is a prescription medication widely prescribed as part of traditional hormone replacement therapy (HRT). It’s comprised of a combination of two synthetic, chemically altered hormones: An estrogen plus a progestin.
The estrogen component is from another prescription drug called Premarin. Premarin contains naturally occurring estrogens (called unconjugated) derived from, of all things… horse urine.
The progestin component is called medroxy-progesterone and is a chemically altered form of progesterone.
PremPro® was used extensively for decades until 2002 when the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) studies exploded upon the front page of every large newspaper in the world, describing the catastrophic failure of using chemically altered hormones in post-menopausal women.
One of the main areas the WHI studies were based upon was a huge group of women taking PremPro®. This is where they concluded PremPro® led to an increase in coronary heart disease, stroke, lung clots, breast cancer and even ovarian cancer.
A study by M.D. Anderson reported in a December 2006 medical conference (San Antonio Texas) looked at new cancer diagnoses in the United States.
Specifically, Anderson examined incidents in the year 2003, the year following the initial reports of clotting in connection with use of PremPro®.
A staggering 7% drop in new diagnoses of breast cancer in the U.S. was noted in 2003, compared with 2002 levels. One third of the decrease could have been related to a reduced number of mammographies. But the balance appeared to be related to widespread cessation of PremPro® use.
PremPro® is (unfortunately) still available today as a prescription, but its use has fallen drastically. It is also involved in significant litigation.
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