A woman who read that estrogen-only hormone therapy was associated with fewer Alzheimer's hallmarks in autopsied brains may now be asking her clinician whether she should start it. The answer available in official guidance has not changed, and understanding why is more useful than the study headline.
Four weeks before those findings were published, the World Health Organization issued dementia risk reduction guidelines that judged menopausal hormone therapy to lack sufficient evidence of benefit for preventing cognitive decline. A WHO-commissioned review published late last year, drawing on data from more than a million participants, found no evidence that hormone therapy either raises or lowers dementia risk, and concluded that prescribing decisions should rest on other benefits and risks. Professional bodies have gone further. The European Society of Endocrinology recommends that hormone therapy not be used to prevent or treat dementia, and the Menopause Society's position statement says it is not recommended at any age for that purpose.
