HRT Shrinks the Brain

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The second paper, after analyzing MRI scans from the same group of people (now aged 71 to 89), found shrinkages in both the hippocampus and frontal lobe regions of the brain, which are critically involved in memory and cognitive function.

"Much to our surprise, we found a small but significant decrease in the hippocampal and frontal volumes, and a nonsignificant trend towards reduced total brain volume in women who had been randomized to hormone therapy," reported Susan M. Resnick, lead author of the second paper and a senior investigator with the Intramural Research Program at the U.S. National Institute on Aging. "The negative effects were most evident in women who already may have had some memory problems before using hormone therapy. . . so it suggests that hormone therapy may be accelerating processes that have already begun."

The most pronounced effect was seen in women with more brain lesions. "In a very healthy brain, the hormone therapy did not appear to have an adverse effect, but in women who were already having some problems, the hormone therapy did have an adverse effect," Resnick said.

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In the WHI trial, hormones were given to 65-year-old women when, in real life, they are often given to much younger women, which may be a harbinger of good news.

"The encouraging thing is that younger women are much less likely to have vulnerable brains," Resnick explained.

Indeed, preliminary research presented earlier this year by the same team did find that women who start hormone therapy before they turn 65 could actually cut their risk of developing Alzheimer's or another dementia.

But Resnick cautioned, "these findings don't impact the current recommendations which are to use hormone therapy for treatment of menopausal symptoms for the shortest time at the lowest possible dose."

More information

Visit the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for more on HRT use.

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