- US researchers found initial memory loss may be triggered by menopause
- Study found women with low oestrogen had the worst memory problems
- It was thought that women were twice as likely as men to get the disease because they live longer
Victoria Allen for the Daily Mail
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Women should consider taking hormone replacement therapy to cut their risk of developing Alzheimer’s, experts claim.
It was thought that women were twice as likely as men to get the disease because they live longer.
But US researchers found that the initial memory loss marking the beginning of dementia may instead be triggered by the menopause, when levels of the hormone oestrogen plummet.
The study discovered that women with low oestrogen had the worst memory problems.
Experts have said women should consider taking hormone replacement therapy to cut their risk of developing Alzheimer’s
Volunteers were tested to find early signs of age-related memory loss, which in some cases could lead to Alzheimer’s.
Researchers say the clear importance of oestrogen in the brain may bolster the argument that women should consider taking HRT to replace the hormone.
Senior author Dr Jill Goldstein, of Harvard Medical School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said maintaining the level of oestradiol – the type of oestrogen that has the greatest effect on the brain – was important for memory function and may be vital in limiting the development of Alzheimer’s.
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She added: ‘I hope this study contributes to illustrating the importance of oestradiol.
‘It is critical to come back to the question of whether taking HRT early in the menopausal transition will help to maintain intact memory function later in life.’ Researchers including an Alzheimer’s expert at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, in Boston, Massachusetts, tested 212 middle-aged men and women and found that the female participants scored higher in all categories of memory function.
Researchers say the clear importance of oestrogen in the brain may bolster the argument that women should consider taking HRT to replace the hormone
But after they reached the menopause they became worse than other women and similar to men at learning and retrieving information. The findings, published in the journal Menopause, suggest this time of life causes changes in frontal areas of the brain that affect short-term memory and ‘executive functions’ such as organising, structuring and evaluating information.
Dr Goldstein said this could pave the way for a form of HRT to be developed that would be delivered straight to the brain. This would avoid any link with breast cancer, which has been found in previous studies.
She added: ‘Alzheimer’s disease is one of the greatest public health challenges of our time.
‘It is imperative that we understand how to retain memory function throughout life, and incorporate these sex differences into future research.’
In the UK, Dr Louise Walker, of the Alzheimer’s Society, said: ‘Researching the effects of HRT is important, as many women will have to make a decision about whether to receive the treatment at some point and should be informed of the risks and benefits.’
However, she added: ‘We wouldn’t recommend women taking HRT with the aim of reducing their risk of developing dementia, but it would be interesting to see more research.’
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