Tamara Thomas

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A recent study published in the journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience has found that taking Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) when menopausal symptoms begin, usually between ages 40 and 50, may protect the female brain from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
Dr. Lisa Mosconi, director of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Program and the Women’s Brain Initiative at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City, and colleagues have found that starting HRT early increases its protective effect on the brain. 
According to the researchers, the brain has a higher has a higher chance of being protected from dementia if HRT is started soon after menopause symptoms begin.
“There’s a window of opportunity,” said Dr. Mosconi. “Hormones work best for the brain when taken in midlife in the presence of menopausal symptoms to support women through the menopause condition.” 
The study also revealed that the type of HRT used influences its effectiveness in reducing dementia risk. According to the researchers, women in their midlife using estrogen-only HRT demonstrated a 32% lower dementia risk compared to those not using HRT. However, the risk reduction was slightly lower (23%) for women using combined estrogen and progesterone therapy.
In contrast, the study revealed that estrogen-only hormone therapy did not have any effects on women 65 and older. 
“If you start taking hormones after age 65 or more than 10 years after the final menstrual period, then estrogen-only therapy doesn’t have any effects. The overall effect is neutral,” Dr. Masconi said. 
Dr. Masconi and colleagues also found that women who began estrogen-progesterone therapy after age 65 or started hormone therapy more than 10 years after menopause began had up to a 30% increased dementia risk. Researchers are not quite sure just how significant the risk of dementia may be. 
“It was borderline significant,” Dr. Mosconi said. “Studies are quite mixed: There’s a lot of evidence for protective effects, and then for negative effects, but on average, the data seem to point to an increased risk of dementia.”
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Source: <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/02/health/hormone-replacement-dementia-wellness/index.html">CNN Health</a>
Journal: <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/aging-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2023.1260427/full#ref21">Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience </a>

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“Hormones work best for the brain when taken in midlife in the presence of menopausal symptoms to support women through the menopause condition.”

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