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A Montreal study reveals that declining levels of estrogen in women can lead to memory problems, supporting popular belief that hormonal changes during menopause could affect brain function.
Barbara Sherwin, a psychologist at McGill University, together with a post-doctorate student Miglena Grigorova conducted the study and investigated the link between estrogen and memory by measuring cognitive behavior before and after menopause in healthy young women. The participants included 25 women, average 36 years of age, were subjected several memory tests when the women's ovaries were still functioning normally. Memory tests were again administered after several weeks when hormonal levels, as measured by blood tests, had declined to post - menopausal levels.
The results showed that estrogen is crucial to maintaining different kinds of memory in women. " We found a significant decrease on their scores that we were able to attribute to estrogen levels," said Sherwin, a pioneer in the field of sex-hormone research.
Sherwin added that "working memory is a function that decreases with normal aging, and women who take estrogen around the time of menopause will be somewhat protected.
Christine Hitchcock, researcher in the faculty of medicine at the University of British Columbia, reacted that other factors could add up to cause deficits in working memory and not just estrogen. Stress, lack of sleep, hot flashes, mood swings could also factor in the loss of memory, said Hitchcock. "But it could be both ( the menopause and the memory problems) are caused by the same thing, she added.
Is it because of estrogen or because of aging brain?
Published by Teresita C. Tayanes on October 18, 2006 05:37 AM
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