Prempro

Such ads don't have to mention any drug risks.

From sports figures like Jack Nicklaus to movie stars like Sylvester Stallone, dozens of famous people have been on TV in recent years urging consumers to ask their doctors for specific prescription drugs for everything from depression to cancer.

Now, more of those celebrities want to make you "aware" of problems you might not know about or even have.

Experts say the shift is because of concerns over medication safety and criticism from medical and consumer groups that ads minimize drug risks.

They also point to talk in Congress about new regulations, possibly banning consumer ads until a drug has been on sale for a year, allowing time for rare side effects to emerge.

"Definitely there has been an increase in spending" on disease awareness ads this year, said Stu Klein, president of Quantum, a health-care advertising company in Parsippany, N.J.

"What 2005 will probably show is that percentage going up." Ad spending monitor TNS Media notes consumer drug ad spending, which totaled $4.4 billion in 2004, actually dipped...

Such ads don't have to mention any drug risks.

From sports figures such as Jack Nicklaus to movie stars such as Sylvester Stallone, many famous people have been on TV in recent years urging consumers to ask their doctors for specific prescription drugs for everything from depression to cancer.

Now, more of those celebrities want to make you "aware" of problems you might not know about or even have.

Experts say that the shift is because of concerns over medication safety and criticism from medical and consumer groups that ads minimize drug risks.

They also point to talk in Congress about new regulations, possibly banning consumer ads until a drug has been on sale for a year, allowing time for rare side effects to emerge.

"Definitely there has been an increase in spending" on disease-awareness ads this year, said Stu Klein, the president of Quantum, a health-care-advertising company in Parsippany, N.J.

"What 2005 will probably show is that percentage going up." TNS Media, which monitors ad spending, notes that spending on consumer drug ads, which totaled $4.4 billion in 2004, actua...

Some may have been advised to resume the hormone therapy, perhaps at a lower dose.

Most are still uncertain about what they should do to feel better, yet still be as safe as possible from the adverse events.

Q: What is the difference between bioidentical hormone replacement and the prescription hormone replacement?

A: First let me explain that the word bioidentical is key here.

Some prescription estrogen and progestin products are not identical to the hormones that occur naturally in the body.

For example, Premarin, the most widely used estrogen replacement for decades, is from the horse species, and is not identical to human estrogen.

The body will process it as best it can, but some by-products will be formed that are foreign to human metabolism.

There is some scientific evidence that these by-products may contribute to the increased risks associated with taking horse estrogen.

Another example is that Provera is not identical to human progesterone.

Provera is a synthetic progestin, which means it is similar to human progesterone in some ways, but it is not identical, and again, the body can only do its best to metabolize it.

The synthetic progestins, like bioiden...