Susan Hendrix, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the WSU School of Medicine, is quoted in an article about the use of compounded bioidentical hormones to treat symptoms of menopause. These hormones are derived from plants and are called bioidentical because they act the way a woman's natural hormones do. Hendrix questions their safety, noting that it would take large studies involving thousands of participants over several years to adequately determine the risks. While use of the plant-derived hormones is attractive to some women who feel those hormones are safer than pharmaceuticals, Hendrix said she tells women that "I'd rather use a product where we know what the risk is." A photo of Hendrix accompanies the story.