Future Directions for the Use of Estrogen

There are considerable data that suggest that cognitive disorders associated with menopause and late-life dementia disorders such as Alzheimer¹s disease may be related to estrogen loss. However, the mechanism by which estrogen affects cognitive and emotional functions in Alzheimer¹s patients have not yet been claried. Nonetheless, these studies carry profound and exciting possibilities in the future treatment of cognitive disorders in elderly women. Future studies need to further investigate the possible effects of estrogen treatment on slowing the progression of Alzheimer's disease. Finally, further studies to determine whether the long-term use of estrogen beginning at menopause can prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer in late life have important implications. For instance, if we can delay the onset of Alzheimer by 5 years, the incidence would be decreased by more than 50% (Breitner, 1994). This would be a great benefit to elderly people, as it would place the average age of onset of dementia beyond the mean age of survival, allowing the majority of elderly women to live with relatively intact cognitive function and perhaps a markedly improved quality of life.

If you know woman who is diagnosed with Alzheimer¹s disease and might be interested in participating in a treatment study with estrogen, you could get further information by emailing to webmaster@alz.org.

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