Going through menopause may increase women’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, a new study has found.
The report from the University of Arizona found that women who have transitioned to menopause have lower levels of glucose in their brains, which makes them more susceptible to the illness.
Researchers who worked on the report said that their study could prove beneficial to the 850 million women worldwide who live with Alzheimer’s.
They are hopeful that their work can lead to the development of interventions that can be applied to pre-menopausal women to lessen their chances of dying from Alzheimer’s.
A new study from the University of Arizona has found that menopause may increase women’s chances of developing Alzheimer’s (file photo)
Menopause causes symptoms that affect the brain, including anxiety, depression, cognitive deficits and insomnia, which scientists have credited to declining estrogen levels.
Previous research has revealed that reduced estrogen levels can make the brain more vulnerable to dysfunction and disease.
For the study researchers observed 43 healthy women who were between ages 40 and 60, 15 of which were pre-menopausal. Fourteen women were peri-menopausal and the remaining women had already weathered the transition.
The researchers used an imaging tool called positron emission tomography (PET) for the study, in which they looked at the amount of glucose, which is a main source of fuel for cells, in participants’ brains.
They found that women who were transitioning to menopause or had already done so had significantly lower levels of glucose in their brains than those who had yet to experience the change.
Study researcher Dr Lisa Mosconi said: ‘Our findings show that the loss of estrogen in menopause doesn’t just diminish fertility.’
‘It also means the loss of a key neuroprotective element in the female brain and a higher vulnerability to brain aging and Alzheimer’s disease,’ she continued.
The report’s conclusions add to a growing body of evidence that suggests a physiological connection between Alzheimer’s patients and menopause.
University of Arizona researchers believe that their study could result in the creation of screening tests and interventions that could work to slow the progress of or reverse the metabolic changes in the brain that lead to Alzheimer’s.
Dr Mosconi explained: ‘This study suggests there may be a critical window of opportunity, when women are in their 40s and 50s, to detect metabolic signs of higher Alzheimer’s risk and apply strategies to reduce that risk.’
Her team is calling for more research to be done on the subject, which they say should include observing more women.
‘We really need to follow larger groups of women over long periods to see how this menopausal change in metabolism relates to Alzheimer’s,’ Dr Mosconi concluded.