Contrary to popular belief, hormone
replacement therapy in women not only fails to reduce loss of memory
and brain function (dementia) usually associated with Alzheimer's
disease, it actually increases it.
These "surprising and significant
findings" are reported in two studies from the Women's Health
Initiative Memory Study, in which the Medical Center participates, in a
recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
Estrogen replacement therapy has long
been thought to improve bone, brain and cardiovascular function in
postmenopausal women, explains Margery Gass, MD, professor of OB/GYN at
UC and principal investigator of the Tristate Women's Health Initiative.
The Women's Health Initiative monitored women 65 and over who were using estrogen alone or placebo for
five to seven years.
Although estrogen replacement did appear
to protect against bone degeneration (osteoporosis), the studies showed
it actually increased the stroke risk and might also adversely affect
memory and cognitive function in postmenopausal women.
The Women's Health Initiative is the
largest and longest randomized, controlled study of women's health
funded by the National Institutes of Health.