A reader writes:

Wow.

Well, clearly the cat is out of the bag and we should just come clean. Here's your answer:

At last, the bioethicists are looking into this.

M. Sara Rosenthal presented at the Endocrine Society's 89th annual meeting, June 2-5, on the recent phenomenon of celebrities, particularly Suzanne Somers, advocating and offering advice on bioidentical hormone therapies. She is the director of the University of Kentucky Program for Bioethics and Patients' Rights.

"Problems can occur when women look to untrained lay practitioners for medical advice," said Rosenthal. "With no medical background or formal training in science, Somers is providing prescriptive medical advice that many endocrinologists question. Many of the therapies Somers endorses have not undergone standard institutional research review processes. Women may not understand or appreciate that such therapies pose unknown risks to their health and are not regulated or monitored."

I don't have a copy of Ms. Rosenthal's presentation and can't say whether she directly addressed Somers' advocacy of the Wiley Protocol (though it seems implied), but I do know that she inquired with women who have had adverse experiences on the Wiley Protocol.

Reference

ABC News is putting the spotlight on the Wiley Protocol this Friday, February 16, in a 20/20 story titled, "Promises Promises – From losing weight to staying young, how NOT to believe the hype." Among those interviewed for the program was Madeleen Herreshoff, a breast cancer survivor who sought relief from menopause in the Wiley Protocol, only to find herself suffering unbearable side-effects and with no solutions from Wiley. (She also found herself the target of Neil Raden's harassment when she spoke openly about her experiences. We at Wiley Watch applaud her courage in continuing to do so.)

Suzanne Somers and T.S. Wiley were also interviewed and presumably will be defending themselves and their actions. I anticipate more of what we've learned to expect: avoiding pointed questions by changing the subject and attacking the victims, topped with a big dollop of self-enshrinement.

Update: I'm told the Madeleen Herreshoff interview has been cut from the piece. It appears that Wiley managed to muddy the waters with the ABC News producers by alleging that Ms. Herreshoff wasn't following the protocol - that she was using an olive oil base instead of the official, licensed Wiley Protocol cream. Wiley claims that this was the source of her difficulties. Yet Ms. Herreshoff says she followed the protocol and used Wiley-branded product for about three months, and switched to olive oil only when the side-effects became intolerable.

It should be noted that the use of olive oil cuts Wiley out of the revenue stream. Wiley stridently warned those who were considering olive oil that they were not following the protocol and would be denied consultation. She also insisted that olive oil was ineffective, despite its well-established utility as a base for transdermal steroid delivery and despite the empirical results of the women who switched away from the Wiley cream.

ABC News is looking for women who have had negative reactions to the Wiley Protocol. If you would like to tell your story, please — as soon as possible — leave a note on the Wiley Watch contact form, and we will forward it on to them.

Video here, if you missed it.

"Somers follows a bioidentical protocol developed not by a doctor, not by a scientist, but by this woman, a former actress named T.S. Wiley."

T.S. Wiley: "My credentials have nothing to do with the issues in women's health."

Dr. Nancy Snyderman: "Why not?"

Wiley: "Because..."

Snyderman: "You're an anthropologist and you're trying to alter the course of women's health. Your credentials very much come to the front line."

[Parenthetically, taking some classes in college and buying a membership to the American Anthropological Association do not make one an anthropologist.]

Wiley: "Oh I don't think so. Do you think you need a license in this country to think?"

Snyderman: "Ah, that's not what I said."

I've been regrettably busy and haven't yet posted here what we've uncovered about T.S. Wiley's various purported credentials. And now we've been scooped! See Newsweek's Health Gurus: Questionable Claims.

The main revelation is something we've known for a long time. T.S. Wiley has been running around the country claiming a B.A. in anthropology from Webster University (for instance here and on her own web site). This is a blatant lie. The degree does not exist. [UPDATE: After this was published the link went dead. Here's a copy. "T.S. Wiley earned a BA in Anthropology at Webster College, St. Louis, MO." No, she did not.]

On Wednesday I contacted the producers of Larry King Live, before the show, and brought to their attention this non-existent degree. This time, no mention was made of T.S. Wiley's degree in her introduction. And then, her bio page was changed. Where it used to say, "B.A. in Anthropology, Webster University, 1975" it now says "Pending B.A. in Anthropology, Webster University, 1975".

Pending. For 31 years.

Surely no other university has ruined as many careers with such a monumental backlog as this.

We called Webster's office of the registrar and read this new line to them. The registrar literally guffawed. She said there is no such thing as a "pending" degree.

There's more to be told about Wiley's so-called credentials. Stay tuned.

Tonight's show: "Why is Suzanne Somers coming under fire from some doctors? Find out why as she goes head-to-head with her harshest critics. Tune in tonight at 9 p.m. ET." (6 PM Pacific.)

According to my sources, Wiley, Diana Schwarzbein, and Erika Schwartz will be on.

You can submit questions by following this link: http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/larry.king.live/

UPDATE: Here's the transcript of the show. The Suzanne Somers / T.S. Wiley segment begins about halfway through.

UPDATE: Look for this on today's (Thursday's) Inside Edition.

Erika Schwartz is scheduled to appear on Inside Edition tomorrow (Wednesday) to discuss this issue and the letter to Suzanne Somers' publisher.

Here's a link to the full letter referred to in the New York Times article, condemning Somers' reckless endorsement of Wiley's protocol, and signed by the following doctors:

Erika Schwartz, M.D.
Diana Schwarzbein, M.D.
Daved Rosensweet M.D.
C.W. Randy Randolph, Jr., M.D.,R.Ph
Christiane Northrup, M.D.
Jane Murray, M.D.
Helene Leonetti, M.D.

Letter to Suzanne Somers

If you are at all tempted by the protocol, this is a must-read.

In a piece titled “A Battle Over 'Juice of Youth”, the New York Times puts the spotlight on Suzanne Somers' endorsement of the Wiley Protocol in her new book, Ageless: The Naked Truth About Bioidentical Hormones.

“The book, though, has raised the hormone levels of at least seven medical doctors. The doctors — three of whom are quoted in the book — generally support the concept of bioidentical hormone therapies but say that too little research has been done to assure that they are safe.