Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may help prevent Alzheimer’s disease in women at risk of developing the condition, researchers have suggested. A team said the use of HRT, which helps control symptoms of the menopause, is associated with better memory, cognitive function and larger brain volumes in later life in women carrying a gene called APOE4.
About a quarter of women in the UK are thought to carry the APOE4 gene and Alzheimer’s is more common in women than men. APOE4 is the strongest risk factor gene for Alzheimer’s disease, although inheriting APOE4 does not mean someone will definitely develop the condition.
In a new study, researchers found that HRT was most effective when given during perimenopause – where symptoms build up months or years before periods actually stop – and could lead to brains that appear several years younger. Professor Anne-Marie Minihane, from UEA’s Norwich Medical School, who led the study with Professor Craig Ritchie at the University of Edinburgh, said: “We know that 25% of women in the UK are carriers of the APOE4 gene and that almost two thirds of Alzheimer’s patients are women.
