Preventing Alzheimer Disease and Cognitive Decline
Authors: Frederick Naftolin, S. Mitchell Harman
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2011)

Letters1 February 2011Preventing Alzheimer Disease and Cognitive DeclineFrederick Naftolin, MD, PhD and S. Mitchell Harman, MD, PhDFrederick Naftolin, MD, PhDFrom New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, and Kronos Longevity Research Institute, Phoenix, AZ 85016.Search for more papers by this author and S. Mitchell Harman, MD, PhDFrom New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, and Kronos Longevity Research Institute, Phoenix, AZ 85016.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-154-3-201102010-00015 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:The National Institutes of Health (NIH) State-of-the-Science Conference Panel statement (1) suggesting that estrogen and progesterone may contribute to causation of Alzheimer disease has raised concern and elicited alarmed calls from patients regarding their future. We believe that the panel's conclusion is erroneous because it is based solely on the outcome of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) trial's substudy WHIMS (Women's Health Initiative Memory Study), which had the same risk value as that shown in the NIH statement (2).WHIMS had an inappropriate experimental construction using age-driven postrandomization apportionment of participants. Because of this, WHIMS was limited ...References1. Daviglus ML, Bell CC, Berrettini W, Bowen PE, Connolly ES, Cox NJ, et al. National Institutes of Health State-of-the-Science Conference statement: preventing Alzheimer disease and cognitive decline. Ann Intern Med. 2010;153:176-81. [PMID: 20547888] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Shumaker SA, Legault C, Kuller L, Rapp SR, Thal L, Lane DS, et al; Women's Health Initiative Memory Study. Conjugated equine estrogens and incidence of probable dementia and mild cognitive impairment in postmenopausal women: Women's Health Initiative Memory Study. JAMA. 2004;291:2947-58. [PMID: 15213206] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Tan O, Harman SM, Naftolin F. What can we learn from design faults in the Women's Health Initiative randomized clinical trial? Bull NYU Hosp Jt Dis. 2009;67:226-9. [PMID: 19583558] MedlineGoogle Scholar4. Naftolin F, King J, Morrison JH. Post hoc magnetic resonance imaging cannot justify the conclusions of WHIMS [Editorial]. Gynecol Endocrinol. 2010;26:391-2. [PMID: 20175707] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Santen RJ, Allred DC, Ardoin SP, Archer DF, Boyd N, Braunstein GD, et al; Endocrine Society. Postmenopausal hormone therapy: an Endocrine Society Scientific Statement. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2010;95:s1-s66. [PMID: 20566620] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. Tang MX, Jacobs D, Stern Y, Marder K, Schofield P, Gurland B, et al. Effect of oestrogen during menopause on risk and age at onset of Alzheimer's disease. Lancet. 1996;348:429-32. [PMID: 8709781] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar7. Zandi PP, Carlson MC, Plassman BL, Welsh-Bohmer KA, Mayer LS, Steffens DC, et al; Cache County Memory Study Investigators. Hormone replacement therapy and incidence of Alzheimer disease in older women: the Cache County Study. JAMA. 2002;288:2123-9. [PMID: 12413371] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, and Kronos Longevity Research Institute, Phoenix, AZ 85016.Disclosures: None disclosed. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoNational Institutes of Health State-of-the-Science Conference Statement: Preventing Alzheimer Disease and Cognitive Decline Martha L. Daviglus , Carl C. Bell , Wade Berrettini , Phyllis E. Bowen , E. Sander Connolly Jr. , Nancy Jean Cox , Jacqueline M. Dunbar-Jacob , Evelyn C. Granieri , Gail Hunt , Kathleen McGarry , Dinesh Patel , Arnold L. Potosky , Elaine Sanders-Bush , Donald Silberberg , and Maurizio Trevisan Preventing Alzheimer Disease and Cognitive Decline Martha L. Daviglus , Carl C. Bell , Wade Berrettini , Phyllis E. Bowen , E. Sander Connolly Jr. , Nancy Jean Cox , Jacqueline M. Dunbar-Jacob , Evelyn C. Granieri , Gail Hunt , Kathleen McGarry , Dinesh Patel , Arnold L. Potosky , Elaine Sanders-Bush , Donald Silberberg , and Maurizio Trevisan Preventing Alzheimer Disease and Cognitive Decline Chengxuan Qiu , Miia Kivipelto , and Laura Fratiglioni Metrics Cited ByReproductive Hormones and Dementia 1 February 2011Volume 154, Issue 3Page: 211-212KeywordsAlzheimer diseaseBrain diseasesEndocrine therapyEstrogensHormonal therapyHormonesMenopauseObstetrics and gynecologyThrombosis ePublished: 1 February 2011 Issue Published: 1 February 2011 CopyrightCopyright © 2011 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF DownloadLoading ...