Researchers see no brain benefits even in early postmenopause
WebMD News from HealthDay
By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, Nov. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Low levels of the hormone estrogen are not to blame for mood swings and poor memory after menopause, a new study suggests.
Based on this finding, the researchers believe there's no reason to use hormone replacement therapy to boost mental well-being after periods stop.
"These study findings provide further evidence that a woman's decision about hormone therapy use during early postmenopause should be made independently of considerations about thinking abilities," said lead researcher Dr. Victor Henderson, a professor of neurology and neurological science at Stanford University in California.
However, while estrogen wasn't tied to any mental benefits, the study found that another hormone -- progesterone -- might affect thinking ability in younger women.
But this could be a chance finding and merits further investigation, according to the report, published online Nov. 25 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The sex hormones estrogen and progesterone typically decline in a woman's 30s and 40s, eventually resulting in menopause and an end to fertility. The average age of menopause is about 50.
The benefits and harms of hormone replacement therapy have been the subject of much debate. Previous studies have linked use of synthetic hormones after menopause with increased risk for heart disease, stroke, blood clots and breast cancer.
Dr. Jennifer Wu, an obstetrician/gynecologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, said that after menopause "a lot of women think that lack of estrogen will lead to mental decline, and that's just not the case."
Doctors don't usually start with hormone replacement therapy as the first line of treatment for postmenopausal symptoms because of the associated risks, she said.
"Trying to maintain mental abilities is not a reason to take on all the risks of hormone replacement therapy," she said. And other medications are available for treating hot flashes -- episodes of intense body heat related to menopause.
Some scientists theorized that estrogen's effect on thinking might depend on how soon after menopause hormone levels were boosted. This led the researchers of this study to divide the participants into two groups -- women within six years of menopause and those more than 10 years beyond menopause.
Henderson said length of time in estrogen decline appeared to make no difference. "We found that the relation between blood levels of estrogen and memory or planning skills is the same in younger postmenopausal women as in older postmenopausal women," he said. "Essentially, for estrogen there is no association at either age."
Although these findings don't absolutely rule out estrogen as relevant to thinking and memory, since there is no direct way of measuring estrogen in the brain, they suggest that boosting estrogen levels -- even in younger postmenopausal women -- may not affect mental skills one way or the other, he said.
source : Estrogen Won't Make Women Sharper After Menopause, Study Finds
