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Memory decline after menopause linked to loss of estrogen production in brain

news.northwestern.edu

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Re: Memory decline after menopause linked to loss of estrogen production in brain

#51

Post by tclancy »

throw8394jrjr wrote: post #14
mirabilis wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

US life expectancy in 2024 for women was 81.4 years; for men, 76.5 [1]; “non-early” symptoms of Alzheimer's typically begin after 65 [2]. I don’t think that the life expectancy average offset of ~5 years is the main factor here. 1. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db548.htm 2. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alzheimers-di...

It also said "comfortable lives". Also compare retirement ages, years worked, income (hard mental work)... it is well known that alzhaimer is corellated with brain activity (like solving suduku puzzles). Watching tv all day is not very healthy for brain...

Congrats on inventing a Time Machine in the early 80s. Why are you just contacting us now?

Re: Memory decline after menopause linked to loss of estrogen production in brain

#52

Post by bee_rider »

mirabilis wrote: post #10
thridmddi9e93 wrote: post #2

> Nearly two-thirds of Americans with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are women, but the reasons why women are more vulnerable are still not fully understood. Women live much longer and more comfortable lives. Men are more likely to die before alzheimer can even manifest.

US life expectancy in 2024 for women was 81.4 years; for men, 76.5 [1]; “non-early” symptoms of Alzheimer's typically begin after 65 [2]. I don’t think that the life expectancy average offset of ~5 years is the main factor here. 1. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db548.htm 2. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alzheimers-di...

No idea what the main factor is. But, it could be a contribution, right? If the life expectancy is ~10 more years after 65 for men, and ~15 for women, then the offset of 5 years seems… somewhat significant?

Re: Memory decline after menopause linked to loss of estrogen production in brain

#53

Post by leoqa »

bethekidyouwant wrote: post #22
derektank wrote: post #4

The damage the Women’s Health Initiative did to women’s health by conducting the flawed research that got HRT black boxed for twenty years really cannot be overstated. We went from a quarter of women being on estrogen replacement therapy post-menopause at the turn of the millennium to ~5% in 2020. A real case study in institutional failure.

The institution of science?

If I remember correctly they linked it to breast cancer, causing all research and prescribing to basically disappear over night. It took 20 years before the study was revisited and the link dismissed.

Re: Memory decline after menopause linked to loss of estrogen production in brain

#54

Post by sandworm101 »

derektank wrote: post #4

The damage the Women’s Health Initiative did to women’s health by conducting the flawed research that got HRT black boxed for twenty years really cannot be overstated. We went from a quarter of women being on estrogen replacement therapy post-menopause at the turn of the millennium to ~5% in 2020. A real case study in institutional failure.

At the time, there was also real concern about what that estrogen was doing to other people too, people around women who were on supplements. I used to be a competitive swimmer. There was a real debate in the 90s/2000s about how much of that estrogen was ending up in pool water. The question was whether it was healthy for children, boys and girls, to be literately swimming in a not-insignificant amount of supplemental estrogen. Testosterone patches were also an issue in pools, but they were much less common. With the change in treatment the debate is now largely moot.

The exposure for lap swimmers was significant. A competitive kid would regularly spend 10+ hours a week in that water (at my peak it was closer to 20+) not to mention the amount of water swallowed and inhaled as vapor/droplets.

There is a line in a Doctor Who episode (Torchwood?) where a character comments that he could recognize 20th century earth because he could taste estrogen in the rain. In real life, it was detected in rainwater.

Re: Memory decline after menopause linked to loss of estrogen production in brain

#55

Post by cmurf »

gavinray wrote: post #11

Estrogen (specifically Estradiol, E2) is one of the most important systemic hormones in both men and women I've spent a significant amount of my free time for the last 15 years studying androgen physiology and self-experimentation. Here are a few facts about estradiol that others might find surprising: 1. E2 acts as a master metabolic/energy regulator in humans. ER-alpha and pan-ER agonists are being developed for ob…

We need a synthetic or phytoestrogen that provides some (or all) of the benefits of natural estrogen, without at all stimulating Er/Pr receptive cancer.

Re: Memory decline after menopause linked to loss of estrogen production in brain

#56

Post by gavinray »

cmurf wrote: post #55
gavinray wrote: post #11

Estrogen (specifically Estradiol, E2) is one of the most important systemic hormones in both men and women I've spent a significant amount of my free time for the last 15 years studying androgen physiology and self-experimentation. Here are a few facts about estradiol that others might find surprising: 1. E2 acts as a master metabolic/energy regulator in humans. ER-alpha and pan-ER agonists are being developed for ob…

We need a synthetic or phytoestrogen that provides some (or all) of the benefits of natural estrogen, without at all stimulating Er/Pr receptive cancer.

This exists! Estetrol (E4) is a very strange estrogen that acts as an ERR antagonist in breast tissue but normally in most other receptors.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8658652/

  > Recent studies indicate that E4 is an estrogen with a distinctive profile of ERα activation. E4 activates the nuclear ERα, but it is an antagonist of the membrane ERα, in contrast to other estrogens [14,15,16]. Based on its pharmacological profile, E4 can be classified as the first Natural Estrogen with Selective Action in Tissues (NEST) [17]. NEST activities of E4 are the consequence of its unique dual role.

  > On breast tumor tissue it acts as an estrogen antagonist in the presence of E2 [21,22]. The estrogen-antagonistic effect of E4 in the breast has been further supported by a recent pre-clinical study that has been performed in women with breast cancer, finding that E4 reduces breast cancer cells proliferation [21,23,24,25,26]. These features could suggest a future role of E4 as a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM), but with less adverse effect than tamoxifen (hot flushes, nausea, hypertension, thromboembolic events, endometrial hyperplasia)

Re: Memory decline after menopause linked to loss of estrogen production in brain

#57

Post by mirabilis »

bee_rider wrote: post #52
mirabilis wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

US life expectancy in 2024 for women was 81.4 years; for men, 76.5 [1]; “non-early” symptoms of Alzheimer's typically begin after 65 [2]. I don’t think that the life expectancy average offset of ~5 years is the main factor here. 1. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db548.htm 2. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alzheimers-di...

No idea what the main factor is. But, it could be a contribution, right? If the life expectancy is ~10 more years after 65 for men, and ~15 for women, then the offset of 5 years seems… somewhat significant?

The Alzheimer’s association has a good datasheet out for 2026: https://www.alz.org/getmedia/ef8f48f9-ad36-48ea-87f9-b740346...

“Older age is the greatest risk factor for Alzheimers and other dementias, and women live longer than men on average; this survival difference contributes to higher prevalence of Alzheimer's and other dementias in women than in men.

However, it is not clear that the risk of developing Alzheimer's or other dementias differs between men and women of the same age. Most studies of incidence in the United States have found no meaningful difference between men and women in the proportion who develop Alzheimer's or other dementias at any given age. Similarly, some European studies have reported a higher incidence among women at older ages while others have reported higher incidence among men.”

I’ll happily apologize for being in the weeds on incidence vs. prevalence.

The datasheet does have some really interesting info on genetic risk factors such as APOE-e4 and the “strength” of modifiable risk factors such as diet, exercise, and social activity — “In the United States, a study involving more than 375,000 participants estimated that nearly 37% of dementia cases were associated with eight modifiable risk factors”, qtd from the same document linked above

Re: Memory decline after menopause linked to loss of estrogen production in brain

#58

Post by polskibus »

gavinray wrote: post #11

Estrogen (specifically Estradiol, E2) is one of the most important systemic hormones in both men and women I've spent a significant amount of my free time for the last 15 years studying androgen physiology and self-experimentation. Here are a few facts about estradiol that others might find surprising: 1. E2 acts as a master metabolic/energy regulator in humans. ER-alpha and pan-ER agonists are being developed for ob…

What should be done to keep it on the right level forever ?

Re: Memory decline after menopause linked to loss of estrogen production in brain

#59

Post by jhoechtl »

sandworm101 wrote: post #54
derektank wrote: post #4

The damage the Women’s Health Initiative did to women’s health by conducting the flawed research that got HRT black boxed for twenty years really cannot be overstated. We went from a quarter of women being on estrogen replacement therapy post-menopause at the turn of the millennium to ~5% in 2020. A real case study in institutional failure.

At the time, there was also real concern about what that estrogen was doing to other people too, people around women who were on supplements. I used to be a competitive swimmer. There was a real debate in the 90s/2000s about how much of that estrogen was ending up in pool water. The question was whether it was healthy for children, boys and girls, to be literately swimming in a not-insignificant amount of supplementa…

Is there any line between your statement, women's contraceptive pill and an ongoing decline in human intelligence?

Re: Memory decline after menopause linked to loss of estrogen production in brain

#60

Post by gavinray »

polskibus wrote: post #58
gavinray wrote: post #11

Estrogen (specifically Estradiol, E2) is one of the most important systemic hormones in both men and women I've spent a significant amount of my free time for the last 15 years studying androgen physiology and self-experimentation. Here are a few facts about estradiol that others might find surprising: 1. E2 acts as a master metabolic/energy regulator in humans. ER-alpha and pan-ER agonists are being developed for ob…

What should be done to keep it on the right level forever ?

There's no magic secret beyond eating well and being physically active
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