Timing of estrogen therapy is crucial

October, 2011

A rat study provides further evidence that the conflicting findings on the benefit of estrogen therapy stem from the importance of timing.

The very large and long-running Women's Health Initiative study surprised everyone when it produced its finding that hormone therapy generally increased rather than decreased stroke risk as well as other health problems. But one explanation for that finding might be that many of the women only received hormone replacement therapy years after menopause. There are indications that timing is crucial.

This new rat study involved female rats equivalent to human 60-65 year olds, about a decade past menopause.  An enzyme called CHIP (carboxyl terminus of Hsc70 interacting protein) was found to increase binding with estrogen receptors, resulting in about half the receptors getting hauled to the cell's proteosome to be chopped up and degraded. When some of the aged rats were later treated with estrogen, mortality increased. When middle-aged rats were treated with estrogen, on the other hand, results were positive.

In other words, putting in extra estrogen after the number of estrogen receptors in the brain has been dramatically decreased is a bad idea.

While this study focused on mortality, other research has produced similar conflicting results as to whether estrogen therapy helps fight age-related cognitive impairment in women (see my report). It’s interesting to note that this effect only occurred in the hippocampus — estrogen receptors in the uterus were unaffected.

Reference: 

Related News

A study involving 2,050 people aged 70 to 89 has found that mild cognitive impairment was 1.5 times more common in men than women.

Reports on cognitive decline with age have, over the years, come out with two general findings: older adults do significantly worse than younger adults; older adults are just as good as younger adults.

A pilot study involving six patients with mild Alzheimer’s has shown using Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is safe and may help improve memory, or at least slow decline. Patients received continuous stimulation for 12 months, between 2005 and 2008.

Following on from indications that gum disease might be a risk factor for dementia, analysis of data from 152 subjects in the Danish Glostrop Aging Study has revealed that periodontal inflammation at age 70 was strongly associated with lower cognitive scores (on the Digit Symbol Test).

A two-year study involving 271 older adults (70+) with mild cognitive impairment has found that the rate of brain atrophy in those taking folic acid (0.8 mg/d), vitamin B12 (0.5 mg/d) and vitamin B6 (20 mg/d), was significantly slower than in those taking a placebo, with those taking the supplem

A number of studies have found evidence that fruits and vegetables help fight age-related cognitive decline, and this has been thought to be due to their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.

I have often spoken of the mantra: What’s good for your heart is good for your brain.

A number of studies have found that source memory (knowing where you heard/read/experienced something) is a particular problem for older adults. Destination memory (knowing who you’ve told) is an area that has been much less studied.

On the subject of the benefits of walking for seniors, it’s intriguing to note a recent pilot study that found frail seniors who walked slowly (no faster than one meter per second) benefited from a brain fitness program known as Mindfit.

A study involving 65 older adults (59-80), who were very sedentary before the study (reporting less than two episodes of physical activity lasting 30 minutes or more in the previous six months), has found that those who joined a walking group improved their cognitive performance and the connecti

Pages

Subscribe to Latest newsSubscribe to Latest newsSubscribe to Latest health newsSubscribe to Latest news
Error | About memory

Error

The website encountered an unexpected error. Please try again later.