title: Surgical menopause, estrogen, and cognitive function in women: what do the findings tell us?
abstract: Randomized, controlled trials of estrogen treatment found protective effects of estrogen therapy (ET) on verbal memory in healthy, 45-year-old surgically menopausal women given 17-beta estradiol immediately after surgery. However, no effect was found when conjugated equine estrogens were given to older women years after their surgical menopause. These findings suggest that there is a critical time for the initiation of estrogen following the menopause with regard to its protective effect on memory as well as a specificity of the effect on verbal memory. These factors may explain why no protective effect of ET on cognitive aging was found in the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study.
authors: Department of Psychology, McGill University, 1205 Dr. Penfield Ave., Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 1B1. barbara.sherwin@mcgill.ca
authors: Barbara B
authors: BB
authors: Sherwin
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004958:Estradiol / Q000008:administration & dosage; D015914:Estrogen Replacement Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects; D004967:Estrogens; D004966:Estrogens, Conjugated (USP) / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects; D008593:Menopause; D008875:Middle Aged; D010052:Ovariectomy; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D016387:Women's Health
chemical_list: D004967:Estrogens; D004966:Estrogens, Conjugated (USP); D004958:Estradiol