Hormone replacement therapy might protect a woman's brain against Alzheimer's disease, but only if the timing's right, researchers wrote in a new study. Photo by Adobe Stock/HealthDay News
Hormone replacement therapy might protect a woman's brain against Alzheimer's disease, but only if the timing's right, researchers say.
Women who start hormone therapy within five years of menopause can lower their Alzheimer's risk by as much as 32%, researchers reported at the annual meeting of the American Neurological Association in Baltimore.
But waiting to start hormone therapy until 65 or later increases a woman's risk of Alzheimer's, researchers found.
"Starting hormone replacement therapy early may give the brain some protection, but if a woman already has Alzheimer's or memory problems, hormone therapy won't slow them down," lead researcher Dr. FNU Vaibhav, a student at the Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences in Rohtak, India, said in a news release.
