Post-Menopausal Estrogen May Stem Alzheimer’s Onset

Researchers at the National Institute on Aging and Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center have found that women who take estrogen after menopause are much less likely than those do not use the hormone replacement to develop Alzheimer’s disease. The risk of developing the disease was reduced by more than 50 percent among the hormone users, according to a report in the June issue of the journal Neurology.

The finding adds to a growing body of evidence that estrogen can benefit the aging brain. Previous studies have indicated, for example, that estrogen acts as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent that can inhibit age-related deterioration of critical brain cells. The hormone also stimulates the growth of neurons that release acetylcholine, an important transmitter of nerve messages in the brain.

Other agents that have been linked to a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease include vitamin E, which is also an antioxidant, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin, ibuprofen and naprosyn.

The new study does not prove that estrogen protects the brain. To establish such proof requires a large long-term study in which some women are randomly assigned to take postmenopausal hormones while others are not. Such a study is currently being carried out under the sponsorship of the Women’s Health Initiative, a major government project. But the results will not be known until sometime in the next decade.