Women who used estrogen-only menopausal hormone therapy had substantially lower odds of showing Alzheimer's disease pathology in autopsied brains, according to a study published this week, but the researchers who conducted it are clear that the finding cannot establish that the therapy caused the difference.
The study, published on August 12, 2026, in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, analyzed data from 21,462 women. Estrogen-only hormone therapy use was associated with 39 percent lower odds of a clinical dementia diagnosis and 35 percent lower odds of Alzheimer's pathology at autopsy. Users also showed biomarker profiles consistent with less amyloid accumulation in the brain.
