by Catherine J. Rourke

Featured in Medical Daily: https://www.medicaldaily.com/bioidenticalpellet-therapy-safe-solution-menopausal-symptoms-473698

Millions of women in the US remain untreated for debilitating menopausal symptoms, according to a recent report from the AARP Public Policy Institute. While over 2 million women enter menopause annually, an estimated 8 to 10 million women experience severe symptoms for seven years or more due to the loss of estrogen, affecting their quality of life.

Yet confusion and misinformation about menopause treatments still persist, preventing access to hormone replacement therapy (HRT). As a result, the AARP findings suggest that only a small percentage of women who could benefit from effective menopause treatments are receiving them.

This report mirrors dozens of others documenting women’s increased mortality rates due to the hormone conundrum.

A 2013 study indicated that “over 50,000 women may have lost their lives due to inaccessibility of the estrogen replacement their bodies needed.” Additional studies from 2013 to 2024 have also documented the mortality toll of estrogen avoidance.

Emphasizing a growing concern over these setbacks, the Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR) website states:

“There is a pressing need to develop more effective treatment options to manage challenging menopausal symptoms and increase awareness about the health impacts associated with menopause including cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and diabetes – among women, health care providers, and society at large.”

The SWHR urges medical practitioners, employers, and policy leaders to:

• “review the state of the science regarding menopause and the effects of estrogen depletion on women’s health,”
• “raise awareness and improve the quality of life for women undergoing menopause,” and
• “promote science-based health care policies around menopause to improve patient outcomes.”

One visionary industry leader is already answering that clarion call and trailblazing the way forward.

CarolAnn Tutera, CEO and president of Tutera® Medical/SottoPelle®, addressed these issues over 30 years ago when she and her late husband, Gino Tutera, MD, began treating patients for menopause using natural bioidentical hormone pellet therapy. Backed by 85 years of scientific research, their groundbreaking developments and innovative dosing method paved the way for pellet practices globally.

As the first woman who launched an entire industry bringing this therapy to the forefront, CarolAnn is the reason it is practiced today. “Hormones serve as the control panel for every organ and function of the body and brain,” she said. “Subcutaneous bioidentical pellets are the safest and most effective form of HRT available.”

The SottoPelle Method® uses plant-based bioidentical hormone pellets that match the molecular structure of human hormones. Gently slipped under the skin, pellets provide 24-7 delivery for optimal effectiveness and typically last four to six months.

CarolAnn notes that the medical industry often fails to distinguish synthetic pharmaceutical hormones from the natural bioidentical kind. And therein lies the cause of the hormone debacle.

“This misunderstanding poses a deterrent to safe approaches,” she said. “Many providers are convinced that all estrogen is dangerous because they’re only aware of pharmacological forms that can trigger harmful side effects.”

Always ahead of her time, CarolAnn remains a trailblazer in the role hormones serve in brain and mental health. Her company has been using pellet therapy to treat neurodegenerative diseases since 2013. Since estrogen regulates cognitive function, she correlates it with the spike of Alzheimer’s and dementia in menopausal women. She is now collaborating with other researchers on studies showing the impact of pellet therapy on brain function.

Identifying safe, effective treatments can eliminate barriers preventing women from accessing care that may help prevent major disease. CarolAnn continues her passionate commitment to make pellet therapy available to women and men so everyone can stay healthy and age gracefully.