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Hormonal Influences on Cognition and Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease

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Abstract

Research increasingly suggests that changes in estrogen levels during aging may increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, the most common type of dementia. This update reviews the newest information about estrogen and cognitive aging, including information regarding the role of bioavailable estrogen in older women and men, use of selective estrogen receptor modulators to improve cognition, and studies of genetic risk factors to elucidate the effects of endogenous estrogen on aging and cognition. Future trials are needed to determine whether alternate timing, dosage, formulation, or method of administration of hormone replacement can reduce the risk of dementia.

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Acknowledgments

Dr. Janicki receives support from the Charles L. and Ann Lee Saunders Brown Fellowship fund and National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant 5 T32 MH2004 Clinical Research Training in Geriatric Neuropsychiatry.

Dr. Schupf receives support from NIH grants #R01AG014673 (principal investigator [PI]), #P01HD035897 (coinvestigator [Co-I]), #P01AG07232 (Co-I), #R01AG028786 (Co-I), #U01 AG023749 (Co-I), #P50 AG08702 (Co-I), #R01AG007370 (Co-I), #R21CA125461 (Co-I), #R01AG036040 (Co-I), and #AG034189 (Co-I) and from Alzheimer’s Association grants #IIRG-08-90655 (PI) and #IIRG-08-92010 (Co-I).

Disclosure

Dr. Schupf is a consultant to Janssen Alzheimer Immunotherapy. No other potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article were reported.

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  1. G. H. Sergievsky Center, Columbia University Medical Center, 622 West 168th Street, PH-19, New York, NY, 10019, USA

    Sarah C. Janicki & Nicole Schupf

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Correspondence to Sarah C. Janicki.

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Janicki, S.C., Schupf, N. Hormonal Influences on Cognition and Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep 10, 359–366 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11910-010-0122-6

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