ACOG Says "Buyer Beware" With Alternative Botanical Treatments.(American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, alternatives to hormone replacement therapy)

2001 JUN 14 - (NewsRx Network) -- In response to the ever-increasing number of women using herbal or other alternatives to conventional hormone replacement therapy (HRT), the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has issued a new Practice Bulletin, "Use of Botanicals for Management of Menopausal Symptoms."

ACOG says that while some botanicals may offer some symptom relief, there is no mandatory regulation of the majority of botanical products, resulting in a lack of standardization among products.

Consumers cannot be assured of any particular product's actual content and efficacy. More importantly, this lack of quality control may result in contamination, adulteration, or misidentification of plant products that may ultimately harm the consumer. Many alternative therapies that are promoted and touted as substitutes for HRT, in fact, do not offer any substantiated health benefits, the organization cautions.

Fewer than one in three menopausal women choose traditional HRT, due to a lack of confidence in its benefits, fear of increased risk of breast cancer, and/or its side effects. Many women perceive "natural" treatments as safe and effective despite the lack of adequate scientific studies proving either. According to ACOG, the number and sophistication of most studies on alternative therapies, including botanicals, do not meet the current standards of evidence-based recommendations. ACOG also cautions that "natural" does not mean safe or effective, and that potentially dangerous or lethal drug-herb interactions can occur.

The new document provides recommendations to ob-gyns for advising their patients on the purported efficacy and potential adverse effects of some of these ...