Study: Estrogen May Help Postmenopausal Women With Alzheimer's

Estrogen therapy may help memory and attention in postmenopausal women with Alzheimer's disease, according to researchers at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Prior research by this team indicated that women taking the normal dosage of estrogen via a skin patch showed improvements in memory and attention. Their latest findings, published in Neurology, show evidence to support a cognitive benefit of estrogen for women with Alzheimer's.

"The results of this study are important as they provide additional evidence concerning the efficacy of estrogen in improving cognitive function for older women with Alzheimer's disease," said Dr. Sanjay Asthana, director of the Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center at the Madison VA Medical Center.

"If confirmed in larger studies, the salutary effects of estrogen on cognition could benefit thousands of women afflicted with Alzheimer's disease," he added.

Although estrogen replacement therapy does not improve brain functioning in post-menopausal women who already have mild to moderate Alzheimer's, it may slow the progression of the disease as well as prevent it for those who do not have the disease.

Researchers speculate that estrogen may protect nerve cells in the brain and perhaps prevent nerve cell death. Further work is needed to determine the relationship between estrogen-induced alterations and cognitive function for patients with Alzheimer's in order to explore a potential mechanism underlying estrogen's beneficial effect on cognition, said the researchers.

Other sources: VA