Different hormone therapies affect brain function differently

Date:
June 10, 2020
Source:
The North American Menopause Society (NAMS)
Summary:
Sex hormones influence the structure and function of the brain,
but little is known about the effect of hormone therapies (HT) on
changes in the brain during menopause. A new study shows smaller
increases in structural brain changes related to aging were
associated with hormone- level changes from transdermal estradiol
or oral conjugated equine estrogen.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
Sex hormones influence the structure and function of the brain, but
little is known about the effect of hormone therapies (HT) on changes
in the brain during menopause. A new study shows smaller increases
in structural brain changes related to aging were associated with
hormone-level changes from transdermal estradiol or oral conjugated
equine estrogen. Study results are published online in Menopause, the
journal of The North American Menopause Society(NAMS).


========================================================================== Age-related changes in learning and memory have been associated with
changes in the structure of the brain. Visually, such structural changes
can be seen through magnetic resonance imaging in what appear as bright
white spots in the brain (known as white matter hyperintensities). These changes in brain structure and in cognitive function may, in part,
be related to the lower estrogen levels resulting from menopause.

In a new study involving participants from the Kronos Early Estrogen
Prevention Study, researchers investigated the link between the changes
in hormone levels (from both the brain and the ovary) with different HT formulations and structural changes in the brain associated with aging
compared with placebo.

They found that smaller increases in these age-related structural brain
changes were linked to decreases in follicle-stimulating hormone in women taking transdermal estradiol and higher levels of estrone (a particular
form of estrogen commonly found in postmenopausal women) in women in both
HT groups (transdermal estradiol and oral conjugated equine estrogens).

Researchers theorized that the differences may likely be in how the
various HT formulations are metabolized. Although an oral administration
is further metabolized in the liver, the transdermal hormones are absorbed directly into the peripheral circulation before being metabolized in the
liver. Additional research is needed to evaluate the effect of different
doses of various oral and transdermal hormones on the change in white
matter hyperintensities.

Study results appear in the article "Associations of pituitary-ovarian
hormones and white matter hyperintensities in recently menopausal women
using hormone therapy." "This study found that pituitary and ovarian
hormone levels are linked to structural brain changes associated with
aging in recently menopausal women using hormone therapy and that there
are differences in these associations depending on the hormone therapy formulation used. Additional study is needed to determine whether dosages
of hormone therapy also affect these associations and to determine what
the clinical implications of these findings are for menopausal women,"
says Dr. Stephanie Faubion, NAMS medical director.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by The_North_American_Menopause_Society_(NAMS). Note: Content may be edited
for style and length.


==========================================================================


Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200610094038.htm

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