(NaturalNews) A large new study from France, published in an American Heart Association journal last spring, shows that bioidentical hormones do not raise the risk of stroke in menopausal women. While it has been well established over the past decade that menopausal women who use synthetic hormone replacement therapy (HRT) such as PremPro have a significantly higher risk of stroke, there has been little safety data for bioidentical hormones.

The French E3N research, which is following 100,000 women over time, is the first to show that bioidentical hormone users have the same or lower risk of stroke and blood clots as women not using any hormone replacement. Bioidentical hormones have the same molecular structure as those made by the human body, while synthetic hormones are not found in nature. Three large population studies have shown that menopausal women who use synthetic hormones have a significantly higher risk of breast cancer, stroke, heart disease and gallbladder disease, including the U.S. Women`s Health Initiative (WHI), the British Million Women Study, and the French E3N study, all published over the past decade.

The French E3N study is unique in that it provides valuable safety data for users of bioidentical hormones, most recently on estrogen, progesterone and the risk of stroke and blood clots. The most common kind of hormone replacement therapy used by French women is a combination of estradiol patch or gel, and oral progesterone -- both bioidentical hormones. Stroke is the third leading cause of death among women in the U.S., and although more men than women have strokes, more women die from them. The WHI study found that users of the hormone replacement drug PremPro had a 41% higher risk of stroke, so investigators of the French E3N study examined the stroke risk factors for bioidentical hormones to find out if there is a difference.

PremPro is made from an estrogen-like extract of a pregnant mare`s urine (Premarin) and a synthetic progesterone or progestin called Provera. In 2005 the French E3N study published research in the International Journal of Cancer showing that women who use bioidentical hormones have the same or lower risk of breast cancer as women who use no hormone replacement. The latest release of information from the French E3N examined the risk of stroke among women using oral (pill) estrogen, transdermal estrogen (patch or gel), different kinds of progestins, and progesterone.

Bottom line, estrogen patches and gels are much safer than estrogen pills, and progesterone is safer than any of the progestins. In fact, women using estrogen patches and progesterone (in pill form) had a slightly lower risk of stroke compared to women not using any type of hormone replacement. A small study recently published in the African Journal of Biotechnology compared endogenous (made in the body) hormone levels in women and men who had an ischemic stroke (blockage of an artery in the brain). The study measured estradiol and progesterone levels in 15 men and 15 women within 12 hours after an ischemic stroke, and compared them to a similar healthy group.

The stroke group as a whole had lower progesterone levels than the control group, and a significantly lower progesterone to estrogen ratio. There is no argument among researchers that stroke risk is increased for women who use oral contraceptives, all of which contain progestins, and for women who use hormone replacement therapies that include progestins and/or high doses of estrogen. Now, women who use bioidentical hormones have some assurance that their risk of stroke and blood clots is not increased.

T.S. Wiley notes, "The Wiley Protocol is distinguished from other protocols because it is    biomimetic. This term is used to describe the BHRT because it denotes a compound that mimics a biological material in its structure and function."

Research done by T. S. Wiley shows that it may not, in fact, just be the molecule that matters. The way the hormone molecule is received at the receptor site and the way receptors are provoked may be at least as important, if not more. The study done by the WHI (Woman’s Health Initiative) proved that dosing synthetic HRT in a static, low-dose regimen was harmful to woman over 65, particularly in regard to stroke and cardiac events. This study “The French E3N” validates that.

Wiley further notes, "The Wiley Protocol is based on the premise that “bio-identical” hormones can only be truly accurately bio-identical if the hormones for replacement mimic, not only those found in the body, but mimic the natural biological process as well. In other words, natural plant derived hormones can accurately be termed bio-identical only when they are dosed in a biomimetic fashion – which must include the natural rhythm."

"Biomimetic hormones, the scientifically accurate term, are derived from plant sources and mimic the natural undulating or wavelike rhythms of the hormone blood levels in a normal menstrual cycle of a healthy young woman. It is this natural rhythm that is missing from all other bio-identical and synthetic hormone replacement therapies. It is the absence of this natural rhythm, which is responsible for the vast side-effects in both camps", according to T.S. Wiley

Lastly, Wiley notes, "Our bodies have a rhythm and so do our menstrual cycles. All living beings are regulated by biological cycles.  These cycles have a rhythm and are commonly called circadian rhythms or the circadian clock (Latin: circa=about and dies=day.) This ‘clock’ in our cells measures the rhythm of a 24 hour spin of the planet. For 28 days the moon tracks the repeat of that cycle – and so does the body."

Virginia Hopkins Health Watch, TS Wiley