A decade ago, researchers shocked women around the world when
they abruptly halted a landmark clinical trial on hormone
therapy, a drug regimen widely used to relieve hot flashes,
night sweats, and other unpleasant symptoms of menopause. Just
five years in, the study results suggested that hormone therapy
increased the risk of several serious health conditions,
including breast cancer, heart disease, and stroke. A follow-up
study soon added Alzheimer’s disease to the list, after finding
that women taking hormones had higher rates of dementia than
women taking placebo. Since then, however, doctors have begun to
reexamine hormone therapy and the conclusions of the trial,
known as the Women’s Health Initiative. In the latest such
study, published today in the journal Neurology, researchers
report that taking hormones may actually lower, not raise, the
risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. But there’s a catch: The
timing of therapy appears to be key. The study participants who
initiated therapy within five year