title: Estrogen use and brain metabolic change in postmenopausal women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We used positron emission tomography to evaluate cerebral glucose metabolic change in postmenopausal women in a naturalistic observational study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Women estrogen users (n = 11) and non-users (n = 9) were studied at baseline and 2 years later. Analyses focused on glucose metabolism in regions previously reported to decline in older persons at risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD) (posterior cingulate and lateral temporal cortex).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Region of interest (ROI) analysis at baseline showed no regional differences between women estrogen users and non users. ROI follow-up analysis revealed that women non-users declined significantly in the posterior cingulate cortex (P= 0.04). Statistical parametric mapping (SPM) analysis confirmed a significant decrease in metabolism of the posterior cingulate cortex among non-users at 2-year follow-up (P = 0.004). In contrast, women estrogen users did not exhibit significant metabolic change in the posterior cingulate.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Estrogen use may preserve regional cerebral metabolism and protect against metabolic decline in postmenopausal women, especially in posterior cingulate cortex, the region of the brain found to decline in the earliest stages of AD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. nrasgon@stanford.edu
authors.forename: Natalie L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Rasgon
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Silverman
authors.forename: Prabha
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Siddarth
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Linda M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Ercoli
authors.forename: Shana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Elman
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lavretsky
authors.forename: S-C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Michael E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Phelps
authors.forename: Gary W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Small
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001057:Apolipoproteins E / Q000235:genetics; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects; D004967:Estrogens / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods; D017698:Postmenopause / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology
chemical_list: D001057:Apolipoproteins E; D004967:Estrogens; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D005947:Glucose