Previous research has found that estrogen protects against heart disease, fights brittle bones, decreases the risk of colon cancer and may help women live longer. Studies have also suggested that estrogen may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease. The ability to establish new connections in the brain is what is lost with the onset of Alzheimer's. An expert not involved in the study said the research was significant as another demonstration that estrogens have positive effects on certain aspects of mental function. Estrogen replacement therapy, however, also carries risks.
Studies show it can increase the risk of breast cancer and endometrial cancer.
The researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure brain activity as the women conducted tasks involving verbal and visual memory. Researchers cautioned that while they observed increased brain activity in women given estrogen, there was no subsequent improvement in verbal and nonverbal memory tasks. Shaywitz said the lack of quantifiable evidence pointing to improved memory function was probably because the tasks were simple and almost all were performed correctly. If a participant was asked something she did not know, the MRI would measure her effort rather than her memory function, she said. This is one step . . .