The use of postmenopausal hormone therapy can accelerate the loss of brain tissue in women aged 65 and older, well beyond the loss that normally occurs with age.
Initial study results indicate that treatment with estrogen, with or without progesterone, increased the risk of dementia and overall cognitive decline in women 65 years of age or older.
Imaging studies conducted on roughly 1400 participants showed that women who had taken hormone therapy had slightly smaller brain volumes in two critical areas -- the frontal lobe and the hippocampus. Both areas are involved in thinking and memory skills, and loss of volume in the hippocampus is a risk factor for dementia.
* Reuters January 12, 2009