Estrogen therapy before 65 may reduce Alzheimer's risk in women

A new study has supported the possibility of reduced risk of developing Alzheimer's disease or dementia in women who use hormone therapy before the age of 65.

Washington, May 3 : A new study has supported the possibility of reduced risk of developing Alzheimer's disease or dementia in women who use hormone therapy before the age of 65.

The study which was a part of the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study, which is a sub-study of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), one of the largest U.S. prevention studies of postmenopausal women, was conducted by a team of researchers led by Victor W. Henderson, at the American Academy of Neurology.

As part of the study, researchers looked at prior hormone use in 7,153 healthy women ages 65-79 before they enrolled in the WHI Memory Study and followed their cognitive health over an average of five years.

Researchers found that women who began estrogen-only therapy after the age of 65 had roughly a 50-percent increased risk of developing dementia. The risk jumped to nearly double for women using estrogen-plus-progestin hormone therapy.

"We found that it didn't matter how old the woman was when she started hormone therapy, how long or recently she took it or what kind of prior therapy she used," Henderson said.

"Further studies are needed to support these findings and learn more about how hormone therapy affects the long-term cognitive health of women who begin use before age 65," Henderson added.

The findings of the research will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 59th Annual Meeting in Boston.

ANI