Estrogen use and brain metabolic change in older adults. A preliminary report.
Because estrogen may influence brain blood flow and metabolism in older adults, we used positron emission tomography to evaluate cerebral glucose metabolic change in post-menopausal women and men. Women estrogen users (n=4), women non-users (n=8) and men (n=10) were scanned at baseline and two years later. Analyses focused on glucose metabolism in lateral temporal, inferior parietal and posterior cingulate brain regions, previously reported to decline in non-demented older persons. No metabolic differences in cerebral regions of interest were found among groups at baseline. At follow-up, women estrogen users showed significantly increased glucose metabolism in the lateral temporal region, whereas women non-users and men exhibited no significant metabolic change in this region. These findings suggest that estrogen use may protect against regional cerebral metabolic decline in postmenopausal women.
Rasgon
N L
NL
Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California at Los Angeles, the Neuropsychiatric Institute, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. nrasgon@mednet.ucla.edu
Small
G W
GW
Siddarth
P
P
Miller
K
K
Ercoli
L M
LM
Bookheimer
S Y
SY
Lavretsky
H
H
Huang
S C
SC
Barrio
J R
JR
Phelps
M E
ME
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism*; D015914:Estrogen Replacement Therapy; D004967:Estrogens / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000378:metabolism; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D004967:Estrogens; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18