Hormonal Hazards

Introduction

Common forms of hormone therapy for post-menopausal women, now big even in India, are said to accelerate loss of brain tissue. Studies by the US National Institutes of Health showed that therapy significantly decreased the volume of brain tissue in regions critical to memory: the frontal lobe and the hippocampus. Both are involved in thinking and memory skills. Older women already having some cognitive problems when they began the therapy were found to be most at risk, said the research published in the January 13 issue of Neurology. Women aged 65 years and older are not advised hormone therapy as the risks outweigh possible benefits.

Source

Down To Earth, February 2009