Alzheimers and dementia concept of memory loss disease and losing brain function memories as an alzheimer health symbol of neurology and mental problems with 3D illustration elements.
A European study recently published in the scientific journal Alzheimer’s Research and Therapy showed that taking hormone replacement therapy can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s in women who have the APOE4 gene, linked to the development of the disease. The research, which was carried out from the observation of forms and exams of women over 50 years old who started hormone replacement without having a diagnosis of dementia, is an initial phase, but considered promising in the sense of seeking ways to prevent the disease. .
Previous studies had already shown that the risk of dementia is greater in women than in men and that the drop in estrogen during menopause is one of the possible factors that accelerate the development of the disease. From this, in this new research, the scientists sought to analyze whether the hormone replacement of estrogen during menopause in women with APOE4 decreases the chances of them developing Alzheimer’s. It is estimated that one in four women have the gene.
In Brazil, around 1.2 million people live with some form of dementia and 100,000 new cases are diagnosed each year, according to the Ministry of Health. The disease, caused by the degeneration and death of brain cells, is irreversible and progressive, so prevention is the best way, experts point out.
Science has not yet found effective formulas to inhibit the onset of Alzheimer’s. So far, what is known is that keeping an active mind, having an active social life, good eating habits and practicing physical activity regularly can help to delay or inhibit the disease, but there is no conclusive data. The discovery about the link between the disease and estrogen, a hormone that has neurological functions, should guide further research over the next few years.
Analyze
The research team developed by the University of East Anglia, England, analyzed data from a brain health study already in progress by the European Consortium for the Prevention of Dementia by Alzheimer’s. In all, the brains of 1,906 people (including 1,178 women) aged over 50 in 10 countries who did not have dementia when they joined the project were analyzed.
Participants underwent cognitive tests and MRI scans and brain volumes. From this, it was possible to see that women who underwent replacement therapy for estrogen lost in menopause – a treatment commonly used to control the symptoms of this period of hormonal changes in the woman’s body – had better neurological health indices, such as better memory , better cognitive function and larger brain volumes over time
