Source: Fox News
Summary
A large Stanford study published in Neurology found that women who used estrogen-only menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) had a 35% lower chance of Alzheimer’s pathology and 39% lower odds of dementia. The study analyzed post-mortem data from 21,462 participants and found that estrogen-only MHT users performed better on memory testing and were better able to function independently. The researchers noted that the results may actually understate the potential benefits of earlier therapy, as the women in the study were generally older when they began treatment.
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This guidance has been heard before.
Menopausal hormone therapy has been linked to both increased and decreased dementia risk in prior studies. The current study’s findings appear to contradict previous research, highlighting the need for further study. The researchers emphasize that the results are observational and do not prove that hormone therapy reduces Alzheimer’s risk. They call for well-designed clinical trials to confirm these observations and determine whether menopausal hormone therapy has a protective cognitive effect.
The advice sounds familiar, as the relationship between hormone therapy and dementia risk remains unclear.
Author: Evan Null
