Estrogen and Alzheimer's By JANE E. BRODY (From the New York Times) Researchers at the National Institute on Aging and Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center have found that women who take estrogen after menopause are much less likely than those do not use the hormone replacement to develop Alzheimer's disease. The risk of developing the disease was reduced by more than 50 percent among the hormone users, according to a report in the June issue of the journal Neurology. The finding adds to a growing body of evidence that estrogen can benefit the aging brain. Previous studies have indicated, for example, that estrogen acts as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent that can inhibit age-related deterioration of critical brain cells. The hormone also stimulates the growth of neurons that release acetylcholine, an important transmitter of nerve messages in the brain. Other agents that have been linked to a reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease include vitamin E, which is also an antioxidant, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin, ibuprofen and naprosyn. The new study does not prove that estrogen protects the brain. To establish such proof requires a large long-term study in which some women are randomly assigned to take postmenopausal hormones while others are not. Such a study is currently being carried out under the sponsorship of the Women's Health Initiative, a major government project. But the results will not be known until sometime in the next decade. The current report came from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study on Aging, a project of the National Institute on Aging now in its 40th year of observing various aspects of aging in more than 2,000 people. The estrogen-Alzheimer's arm of the study involved 472 women who were observed for more than 16 years. The participants were examined every two years over the course of 2 1/2 days, during which the researchers assessed their use of estrogen replacement and administered physical and cognitive tests. The director of the Alzheimer's study, Dr. Claudia Kawas of Johns Hopkins, said, "This finding gives us additional evidence that estrogen may play a role in warding off the onset of this devastating disease." Copyright 1997 The New York Times

© Copyright 1996 Sean W. Scott, Esq., All Rights Reserved. Click here for more information.
Technical questions/comments? Contact Tech Support
Editorial questions/comments? Contact Editorial
Advertising/Sponsorship inquiries? Contact Business
Virtual Law Office is a legal web site presented by the Law Offices of Sean W. Scott, it is not intended to create an attorney client relationship, please see our disclaimer.