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use customized hormones for menopause symptoms, according to some pharmacies, including customdrugs.com, the Web site for South River Compounding Pharmacy of Midlothian, Va.

Typically, proponents of bio-identical hormones use saliva tests to measure hormone levels and adjust the dose accordingly.

Critics say such tests are unreliable.

There's no scientific research to back up the theory that bio-identical hormones carry fewer risks than hormones made by drug companies.

Advocates say common sense should tell us that they are a better option - and argue that concerns about the lack of controlled studies are raised by turf-protecting drug companies.

"Nobody ever did a double-blind study to see if we need water on grass - we just know that," says Steven F.

Hotze, founder of the Hotze Health and Wellness Center in Houston and owner of a compounding pharmacy that is leading the legal fight against the FDA.

"We know they work because our patients get well.

That is a scientific experiment of one, and it works over and over again." Pharmacy firms say the cost of bio-identical hormones are comparable to or slightly higher than the price of drug makers' hormones, and many, but not all, insurance plans cover the cost.

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