Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Establishment of Rat Models Mimicking Gender-affirming Hormone Therapies
Published on: January 10, 2025
Ethical problems with bioidentical hormone therapy
1Program for Bioethics and Patients' Rights, Department of Behavioral Science, University of Kentucky, College of Medicine, Lexington, KY 40536-0086, USA. msrose2@email.uky.edu
Abstract:
The term 'bioidentical' hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) is widely misunderstood by the patient population and misrepresented in patient literature. Within the clinical community, BHRT is currently being prescribed by some as an 'innovative therapy' with no published evidence in peer-reviewed journals that it is better than the current standard of care; in at least one case, BHRT is being used as a study agent in unregulated and unethical research involving very high doses of estrogen and progesterone. Additionally, professional ethics problems abound within the prescribing population, since those claiming expertise and training in BHRT vary widely in competencies, may cross practice boundaries, and may have overt conflicts of interest if they are selling or promoting their own for-profit recipes of BHRT on commercial forums. Ultimately, BHRT presents clinical, research and professional ethics problems that are discussed in depth.
Related Concept Videos
Bioequivalence of Drugs: Drugs with Multiple Indications
Drug Products: Biologics, Biosimilars and Interchangeables
Major Hormones and Their Functions
Oxytocin, produced in the hypothalamus and released by the pituitary gland, plays a role in social bonding, childbirth, and lactation.
Bioequivalence: Overview
Ethical Issues
Ethical Concerns in Healthcare:
Pharmaceutical Alternatives: Excipients and Impurities-Related Therapeutic Nonequivalence
