FDA's scientific integrity questioned.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)

I couldn't agree more with Dr. Chen's letter in which he questions the scientific integrity of the FDA ("FDA Decisions Raise Concerns," Dec. 1, 2005, p. 8).

Evidence is mounting that the Food and Drug Administration's recent decisions and recommendations, particularly when it comes to women's health and prevention of disease, are far from consistent with science. For example, in the area of menopausal health, the data show, and have consistently shown for many years, that the benefits of estrogen replacement--bone protection, prevention of atherosclerosis, prevention of dementia, and improvement of lipid profiles--are both time and dose dependent. Specifically, higher doses yield greater benefits and longer duration of exposure yields the best results. A recent study by Barrett-Connor et al. of retirees in Rancho Bernardo, Calif., shows that women who had used hormone therapy the longest had the best coronary calcium scores. And many of us who take care of menopausal women would corroborate that finding with our own clinical experience with exceptionally healthy long-term users.

Further, at a time when many primary care doctors are making statements like, "It is well known that estrogen causes breast cancer," we ...