Reduce Your Risk of Dementia with Estrogen Therapy
New study shows several years of estrogen therapy can preserve brain structure
Feelings of forgetfulness or mental fuzziness are common among menopausal women, and it is commonly accepted that these kinds of problems are related to decreasing estrogen levels at menopause. Recently, researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology decided to investigate the link between estrogen and memory with an eye to seeing if estrogen treatment could help prevent dementia.
Their study, which was recently published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging, focused on a sample of 160 post-menopausal women. Half of these women had used an estrogen supplement during their transition to menopause, while the other half had never taken estrogen.
The researchers took MRIs of all the women’s brains to compare their hippocampi. The hippocampus is not only one of the most important structures of the brain related to memory; it is also one of the earliest structures to show damage in Alzheimer’s patients.
The women who had had estrogen therapy for menopause treatment had larger hippocampi than the women who had not used estrogen. And even more tellingly, the researchers reported that when they examined the shape of the hippocampi, the areas where the estrogen had had the greatest effect were the same areas that are affected in the early stages of Alzheimer’s.
Estrogen Therapy Must Be Started Early
The researchers were careful to point out that women need to start estrogen supplements early in order to see this beneficial impact on the brain. In general, women in Norway start using estrogen earlier than women in America. The researchers suggested that for protection against memory loss, the late 40s could be the best age for starting estrogen supplementation.
How to Tell If It’s Time for Menopause Treatment
If you have menopause symptoms, you could benefit from menopause treatment. However, it is important to realize that during the transitional period leading up to menopause (peri-menopause) you may actually have too much estrogen in your system. This can lead to a dangerous condition called estrogen dominance, which presents many health risks. Obviously you would not want to be taking estrogen during this time as this would only make your symptoms worse and increase the health risks of estrogen dominance.
It is very important to work with a trusted menopause treatment provider like Renew Woman™ that always bases your estrogen doses on your lab results. This ensures that you never end up estrogen dominant but instead begin boosting estrogen (and progesterone) safely as soon as your lab tests indicate a need.
To learn more, contact us at 800-859-7511.
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