Surgical menopause, estrogen, and cognitive function in women: what do the findings tell us?
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.
Sherwin
Barbara B
BB
Department of Psychology, McGill University, 1205 Dr. Penfield Ave., Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 1B1. barbara.sherwin@mcgill.ca
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
D004967:Estrogens; D004966:Estrogens, Conjugated (USP); D004958:Estradiol