Reducing Neurodegenerative Disease Risk.

Hormone Replacement Therapy

This retrospective analysis aimed to determine the effect of menopausal hormone therapy (HT) on the risk of age-associated neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs), including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, dementia, multiple sclerosis, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The study used a 10-year Humana claims dataset and included women aged 45 years or older with or without claim records of HT medications.

Results showed that HT was associated with a significantly reduced risk for combined NDDs. Formulations containing natural steroids, such as 17β-estradiol and/or progesterone, were linked to a greater reduction in NDD risk. Oral-HT users had significantly reduced risk for combined NDDs compared to non-HT users, while transdermal-HT users showed significantly decreased risk for all-cause dementia and multiple sclerosis. The greatest reduction in NDD risk emerged in patients aged 65 years or older. Long-term therapy (>1 year) showed a more significant protective effect on combined NDDs, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, and dementia than short-term therapy (≤1 year).

The study concluded that HT was associated with a reduced risk of all NDDs, including Alzheimer's and dementia. Greater duration of therapy and natural steroid formulations were linked to greater efficacy. These findings support the idea of precision HT to prevent NDDs, including Alzheimer's disease.

Kim YJ, Soto M, Branigan GL, Rodgers K, Brinton RD. Association between menopausal hormone therapy and risk of neurodegenerative diseases: Implications for precision hormone therapy. Alzheimers Dement (N Y). 2021 May 13;7(1):e12174. doi: 10.1002/trc2.12174. PMID: 34027024; PMCID: PMC8118114.

This study represents yet another example of how bio-identical hormone replacement is beneficial for diseases common in aging populations. 

Jason & Rita