Aug. 29, 2000 Older women with high estrogen levels are less
likely to suffer cognitive decline, says a new study from
researchers at the University of California, San Francisco and
the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center. While
previous studies did not find such an association, the
researchers explained that the new study measured estrogen that
was free from other proteins, which is the form of the hormone
most likely to affect the brain. The new study supports the
theory that taking estrogen after menopause may help some women
avoid Alzheimer's disease, said Kristine Yaffe, MD, UCSF
assistant professor of psychiatry, neurology and epidemiology,
and chief of geriatric psychiatry at the San Francisco VA
Medical Center. However, before deciding about hormone
replacement therapy women should consider other factors, such as
evidence that estrogen can reduce the risk of osteoporosis, and
can increase the risk of breast cancer, she said. Earlier
research had shown that higher levels of estrogen in the bl