Hormone Therapy Linked to Faster Brain Shrinkage in Older Women

By Saher Selod

Researchers discovered that hormone replacement therapies (HRT) used for menopause patients were linked to an increase in memory loss for women 65 years and older. According to the study, there was an increase in the loss of brain tissue in the areas of the brain associated with memory and thinking. Upon further investigation, researchers found that the association of HRT with dementia in older women was most pertinent to women who were already showing signs associated with dementia.

Two major studies revealed important findings on the relationship of HRT to memory loss and an increase in the likelihood of getting a stroke. The first study dismissed previous findings that HRT was related to silent strokes or brain lesions. Dr. Coker of Wake Forest University obtained MRIs of the brains of women taking HRT in order to compare them to MRIs of women who had not taken the hormone therapy. The results showed no association of HRT to brain lesions.

The second study conducted by Dr. Resnick of the NIH's National Institute on Aging found that women who took HRT had slightly less brain tissue in two areas, the frontal lobe and the hippocampus, associated with thinking and memory. The shrinking of the hippocampus is thought to be associated with dementia. The studied relied on the same data used in the previous study and found that there was a greater negative effect for women who were already experiencing issues with their memory loss, indicating that this may accelerate dementia in older women.

The next stage of the study will examine whether there is further damage to the brains of women who are on HRT to see if HRT has had any impact on thinking, memory loss, and brain structure on younger women nearing menopause.

Source: Coker, L. Hogen, P., Bryan, N. et. al. 2009. Postmenopausal hormone therapy and subclinical cerebrovascular disease. Neurology 72: 125-134.

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