A study announced earlier this month at AAN’s 59th annual meeting shows that women who use hormone therapy before the age of 65 can cut their risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. The study found that women who used any form of estrogen hormone therapy before the age of 65 were nearly 50 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease or dementia than women who did not use hormone therapy before age 65.

The research was conducted by Stanford University professor and AAN fellow Dr. Victor W. Henderson as a part of the Women’s Health Initiative Memory Study, which is a sub-study of the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI). The WHI is one of the largest U.S. prevention studies of post-menopausal women. The study looked at prior hormone uses in 7,153 healthy women, who aged between 65-79 years, before they were enrolled in the WHI Memory Study.

Researchers followed the women’s cognitive health over an average of five years, during which only 106 of the total developed Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.

Dr. Henderson announced, “We found that it didn’t matter how old the woman was when she started hormone therapy, how long or recently she took it or what kind of prior therapy she used.” The reduced risk of dementia was seen only with prior hormone therapy, used before one’s enrollment in the study. Women who began estrogen-only therapy after the age of 65 or during the WHI Memory Study had roughly a 50-percent increased risk of developing dementia. The risk jumped to nearly double for women who used estrogen-plus-progestin hormone therapy.

Dr. Henderson also said that further studies are needed to support their findings and learn more about how hormone therapy can affect the long-term cognitive health of women who begin the use before age of 65.

Reference

American Academy of Neurology’s 59th Annual Meeting (in Boston April 28th – May 5th, 2007) and Women’s Health Initiative Memory Study press release.

NOTE: The study was/is funded by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and National Institutes of Health.

The first study in BMJ looked at over 6,000 women. The other in Neurology looked at 2,000 with a family history of Alzheimer’s disease.

The study was conducted by research teams at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Brigham and Women’s Hospital which followed 2,100 people aged over 70. None of them had signs of dementia at the beginning of the study. Participants were given doses of aspirin, naproxen, celecoxib or placebo for four years.

All participants, over period of time, were asked to complete tasks designed to test memory and were also checked for signs of dementia. Researchers found no difference between two groups – placebo and controlled groups. Thus, researchers announced that aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have no effect in preventing the onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s.

Researcher’s, however, said that another NSAID, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), had been shown to dissolve away protein clumps in the brain that are linked to Alzheimer’s disease. But, they advised not to take aspirin or ibuprofen to try to protect against dementia or Alzheimer’s as they can cause dangerous side-effects, including stomach ulcers and kidney problems.

Dr. Susanne Sorenesen, head of research at the Alzheimer’s Society said, “There is nothing to suggest that painkillers reduce the onset of Alzheimer’s or other types of dementia.” She advised that the best way for reducing the risks of Alzheimer’s is a healthy lifestyle, with regular exercise and a balanced diet. She also added that a healthy heart leads to a healthy mind.

References

Lyketsos CG et al. Naproxen and celecoxib do not prevent AD in early results from a randomized controlled trial. Neurology 2007;68.

Kang JH et al. Low dose aspirin and cognitive function in the women’s health study cognitive cohort. BMJ. 2007.