Oestrogens and Alzheimer's disease

In the last decade, several reports suggest that oestrogen replacement therapy (ORT=ERT=estrogen replacement therapy) might prevent or delay Alzheimer's disease. Oestrogens influence and modulate brain structure and brain function. There are substantial arguments that the postmenopausal oestrogen loss might, together with other factors, accelerate the appearance of Alzheimer's disease. The evidence is suggestive, but not compelling, that ORT can reduce the relative risk to suffer from Alzheimer's disease. Furthermore, recent findings are consistent with the hypothesis that oestrogens might ameliorate the symptomatology in early stages of Alzheimer's disease. However, it has to be remembered that in most clinical trials the number of oestrogen users was quite small, and, usually, oestrogen use was not randomised. The aim of the present review is to discuss the data available today in view of their clinical relevance. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

[1]  J. Nedoschill,et al.  [Dementia of the Alzheimer type in women]. , 1999, Fortschritte der Neurologie-Psychiatrie.

[2]  H Helenius,et al.  The Effect of Short‐Term Estrogen Replacement Therapy on Cognition: A Randomized, Double‐Blind, Cross‐Over Trial in Postmenopausal Women , 1998, Obstetrics and gynecology.

[3]  B. Sherwin,et al.  "Add-back" estrogen reverses cognitive deficits induced by a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist in women with leiomyomata uteri. , 1997, The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism.

[4]  F. Fazekas,et al.  Estrogen Replacement Therapy In Older Women: A Neuropsychological And Brain MRI Study , 1996, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

[5]  V. Henderson,et al.  Estrogen replacement therapy and risk of Alzheimer disease. , 1996, Archives of internal medicine.

[6]  Yaakov Stern,et al.  Effect of oestrogen during menopause on risk and age at onset of Alzheimer's disease , 1996, The Lancet.

[7]  L. Schneider,et al.  Effects of estrogen replacement therapy on response to tacrine in patients with Alzheimer's disease , 1996, Neurology.

[8]  I. Tummon,et al.  Memory complaints associated with the use of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists: a preliminary study. , 1996, Fertility and sterility.

[9]  J. Galen Buckwalter,et al.  Cognitive skills associated with estrogen replacement in women with Alzheimer's disease , 1996, Psychoneuroendocrinology.

[10]  E M Wijsman,et al.  Gender difference in apolipoprotein E-associated risk for familial Alzheimer disease: a possible clue to the higher incidence of Alzheimer disease in women. , 1996, American journal of human genetics.

[11]  L. Means,et al.  Estrogen affects performance of ovariectomized rats in a two-choice water-escape working memory task , 1996, Psychoneuroendocrinology.

[12]  C. Toran-Allerand.  Mechanisms of estrogen action during neural development: Mediation by interactions with the neurotrophins and their receptors? , 1996, The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

[13]  C. Behl,et al.  Increased antioxidant enzyme activity in amyloid beta protein-resistant cells , 1996, The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience.

[14]  N. Frijda,et al.  Gender differences in behaviour: Activating effects of cross-sex hormones , 1995, Psychoneuroendocrinology.

[15]  J. Haines,et al.  Genetic susceptibility to Alzheimer disease. , 1995, Trends in genetics : TIG.

[16]  K Kontula,et al.  Apolipoprotein E, dementia, and cortical deposition of beta-amyloid protein. , 1995, The New England journal of medicine.

[17]  J. Haines,et al.  Apolipoprotein E genotype in patients with alzheimer's disease: Implications for the risk of dementia among relatives , 1995, Annals of neurology.

[18]  D. Drachman,et al.  Apolipoprotein E ε4 allele and the lifetime risk of Alzheimer's disease : what physicians know, and what they should know , 1995 .

[19]  W. März,et al.  Apolipoprotein E polymorphism influences not only cerebral senile plaque load but also Alzheimer-type neurofibrillary tangle formation , 1995, Neuroscience.

[20]  G. Saade,et al.  Hormonal status affects the reactivity of the cerebral vasculature. , 1995, American journal of obstetrics and gynecology.

[21]  J. Yesavage,et al.  Estrogen replacement therapy and memory in older women. , 1995, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

[22]  L. Katz,et al.  Sex differences in the functional organization of the brain for language , 1995, Nature.

[23]  J. Born,et al.  Effects of menstrual cycle on creativity , 1994, Psychoneuroendocrinology.

[24]  R. Lustig.  Sex Hormone Modulation of Neural Development in Vitro , 1994, Hormones and Behavior.

[25]  J. Buckwalter,et al.  Estrogen replacement therapy in older women. Comparisons between Alzheimer's disease cases and nondemented control subjects. , 1994, Archives of neurology.

[26]  V. Henderson,et al.  Estrogen deficiency and risk of Alzheimer's disease in women. , 1994, American journal of epidemiology.

[27]  N. Hagino,et al.  Evaluation of estrogen treatment in female patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type. , 1994, Endocrine journal.

[28]  E B Larson,et al.  Postmenopausal estrogen replacement therapy and the risk of Alzheimer's disease: a population-based case-control study. , 1994, American journal of epidemiology.

[29]  L. Garcia-Segura,et al.  New insights into estrogen action on the brain , 1994, Neurobiology of Aging.

[30]  F. Sohrabji,et al.  Estrogen differentially regulates estrogen and nerve growth factor receptor mRNAs in adult sensory neurons. , 1994, The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience.

[31]  C. Behl,et al.  Hydrogen peroxide mediates amyloid β protein toxicity , 1994, Cell.

[32]  B. Sherwin,et al.  Estrogen Use and Verbal Memory in Healthy Postmenopausal Women , 1994, Obstetrics and gynecology.

[33]  P. Greengard,et al.  Estrogen regulates metabolism of Alzheimer amyloid beta precursor protein. , 1994, The Journal of biological chemistry.

[34]  W. Millard,et al.  Ovarian steroid deprivation results in a reversible learning impairment and compromised cholinergic function in female Sprague-Dawley rats , 1994, Brain Research.

[35]  Gastone G. Celesia,et al.  A 30-Week Randomized Controlled Trial of High-Dose Tacrine in Patients With Alzheimer's Disease , 1994 .

[36]  P. Solomon,et al.  A 30-week randomized controlled trial of high-dose tacrine in patients with Alzheimer's disease. The Tacrine Study Group. , 1994, JAMA.

[37]  Elizabeth Hampson,et al.  Cognitive Pattern in Men and Women Is Influenced by Fluctuations in Sex Hormones , 1994 .

[38]  P. Veerraju,et al.  Report of three cases of mucopolysaccharidoses and an unusual case of hyperaminoaciduria detected during the screening of mentally retarded children , 1994 .

[39]  F. Sohrabji,et al.  Estrogen differentially regulates estrogen and nerve growth factor receptor mRNAs in adult sensory neurons , 1994 .

[40]  T. Ohkura,et al.  Poster Presentation: P-43. Estrogen Increases Cerebral and Cerebellar Blood Flows in Postmenopausal Women , 1994 .

[41]  J. Buckwalter,et al.  Cognitive deficits of men and women with Alzheimer's disease , 1994, Neurology.

[42]  F. Sohrabji,et al.  Presumptive Estrogen Target Neurons Express mRNAs for both the Neurotrophins and Neurotrophin Receptors: A Basis for Potential Developmental Interactions of Estrogen with the Neurotrophins , 1993, Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience.

[43]  C. Woolley,et al.  Roles of estradiol and progesterone in regulation of hippocampal dendritic spine density during the estrous cycle in the rat , 1993, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[44]  S. Gauthier,et al.  Apolipoprotein E polymorphism and Alzheimer's disease , 1993, The Lancet.

[45]  J. Haines,et al.  Gene dose of apolipoprotein E type 4 allele and the risk of Alzheimer's disease in late onset families. , 1993, Science.

[46]  E Sobel,et al.  Gender differences on a brief measure of cognitive functioning in Alzheimer's disease. , 1993, Archives of neurology.

[47]  Irwin Silverman,et al.  Effects of estrogen changes during the menstrual cycle on spatial performance , 1993 .

[48]  A. Mooradian.  Antioxidant properties of steroids , 1993, The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

[49]  E. Barrett-Connor,et al.  Estrogen replacement therapy and cognitive function in older women. , 1993, JAMA.

[50]  M. Horowitz.  Cytokines and estrogen in bone: anti-osteoporotic effects. , 1993, Science.

[51]  D. Dorsa,et al.  Estrogen modulates the growth-associated protein GAP-43 (Neuromodulin) mRNA in the rat preoptic area and basal hypothalamus. , 1993, Neuroendocrinology.

[52]  M. Pericak-Vance,et al.  Apolipoprotein E: high-avidity binding to beta-amyloid and increased frequency of type 4 allele in late-onset familial Alzheimer disease. , 1993, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[53]  W. Ershler,et al.  Interleukin‐6: A Cytokine for Gerontolgists , 1993, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

[54]  J. Bauer,et al.  Participation of interleukin-6 in the pathogenesis of alzheimer's disease , 1992, Neurochemistry International.

[55]  J. Larosa,et al.  Effects of unopposed conjugated equine estrogen on lipoprotein composition and apolipoprotein-E distribution. , 1992, The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism.

[56]  B. Sherwin,et al.  Effects of estrogen on memory function in surgically menopausal women , 1992, Psychoneuroendocrinology.

[57]  B. Sherwin,et al.  Variations in memory function and sex steroid hormones across the menstrual cycle , 1992, Psychoneuroendocrinology.

[58]  F. Sohrabji,et al.  Estrogen receptors colocalize with low-affinity nerve growth factor receptors in cholinergic neurons of the basal forebrain. , 1992, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[59]  D. Pfaff,et al.  Effects of estrogen and fimbria/fornix transection on p75NGFR and ChAT expression in the medial septum and diagonal band of Broca , 1992, Experimental Neurology.

[60]  P. Cowen,et al.  Effect of estradiol implant on noradrenergic function and mood in menopausal subjects , 1992, Psychoneuroendocrinology.

[61]  C. Kortepeter,et al.  Possible Short-Term Memory Loss Associated with Nafarelin Acetate , 1992, The Annals of pharmacotherapy.

[62]  C. Toran-Allerand.  Organotypic culture of the developing cerebral cortex and hypothalamus: Relevance to sexual differentiation , 1991, Psychoneuroendocrinology.

[63]  R. Lobo,et al.  Estrogen Improves Psychological Function in Asymptomatic Postmenopausal Women , 1991, Obstetrics and gynecology.

[64]  Elizabeth Hampson,et al.  Estrogen-related variations in human spatial and articulatory-motor skills , 1990, Psychoneuroendocrinology.

[65]  T. Koepsell,et al.  A case‐control study of Alzheimer's disease , 1990, Annals of neurology.

[66]  Elizabeth Hampson,et al.  Variations in sex-related cognitive abilities across the menstrual cycle , 1990, Brain and Cognition.

[67]  W. Hazzard,et al.  Lipoprotein, apolipoprotein, and lipolytic enzyme changes following estrogen administration in postmenopausal women. , 1989, Journal of lipid research.

[68]  H Morgenstern,et al.  Development of dementing illnesses in an 80‐year‐old volunteer cohort , 1989, Annals of neurology.

[69]  V. Henderson,et al.  Spatial disorientation in Alzheimer's disease. , 1989, Archives of Neurology.

[70]  M. Folstein,et al.  Depression and Alzheimer's disease. , 1989, The American journal of psychiatry.

[71]  B. Sherwin,et al.  Estrogen and/or androgen replacement therapy and cognitive functioning in surgically menopausal women , 1988, Psychoneuroendocrinology.

[72]  P. Wise,et al.  Effects of estradiol on the diurnal rhythm of serotonin activity in microdissected brain areas of ovariectomized rats. , 1988, Endocrinology.

[73]  D. Kimura,et al.  Reciprocal effects of hormonal fluctuations on human motor and perceptual-spatial skills. , 1988, Behavioral neuroscience.

[74]  B. Sherwin.  Affective changes with estrogen and androgen replacement therapy in surgically menopausal women. , 1988, Journal of affective disorders.

[75]  Anthony F. Jorm,et al.  The prevalence of dementia: A quantitative integration of the literature , 1987, Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica.

[76]  J. Becker,et al.  The influence of estrous cycle and intrastriatal estradiol on sensorimotor performance in the female rat , 1987, Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior.

[77]  H. Fillit,et al.  Observations in a preliminary open trial of estradiol therapy for senile dementia-alzheimer's type , 1986, Psychoneuroendocrinology.

[78]  B. Schoenberg.  Epidemiology of dementia. , 1986, Neurologic clinics.

[79]  V. Luine.  Estradiol increases choline acetyltransferase activity in specific basal forebrain nuclei and projection areas of female rats , 1985, Experimental Neurology.

[80]  G. V. Van Hoesen,et al.  Alzheimer's disease: cell-specific pathology isolates the hippocampal formation. , 1984, Science.

[81]  L. Sokoloff,et al.  Acute administration of high doses of estrogen increases glucose utilization throughout brain , 1984, Brain Research.

[82]  D L Price,et al.  Alzheimer's disease: a disorder of cortical cholinergic innervation. , 1983, Science.

[83]  R. Bartus,et al.  The cholinergic hypothesis of geriatric memory dysfunction. , 1982, Science.

[84]  P. Mölsä,et al.  Epidemiology of dementia in a Finnish population , 1982, Acta neurologica Scandinavica.

[85]  J. Coyle,et al.  Alzheimer's disease and senile dementia: loss of neurons in the basal forebrain. , 1982, Science.

[86]  M. Sar,et al.  Central noradrenergic neurones concentrate 3H-oestradiol , 1981, Nature.

[87]  J. Mcglone,et al.  Sex differences in human brain asymmetry: a critical survey , 1980, Behavioral and Brain Sciences.

[88]  D. Drachman,et al.  Memory and cognitive function in man , 1977, Neurology.

[89]  J. Hailes,et al.  THE EFFECT OF EXOGENOUS OESTROGENS ON DEPRESSION IN MENOPAUSAL WOMEN , 1977, The Medical journal of Australia.

[90]  E. Maccoby,et al.  The Psychology of Sex Differences , 1974 .

[91]  H Breuer,et al.  Interactions between estrogens and catechol amines. 3. Studies on the methylation of catechol estrogens, catechol amines and other catechols by the ctechol-O-methyltransferases of human liver. , 1972, The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism.

[92]  Toran-Allerand Cd.  Mechanisms of estrogen action during neural development: Mediation by interactions with the neurotrophins and their receptors? , 1996 .

[93]  H. Matsuda,et al.  Estrogen Increases Cerebral and Cerebellar Blood Flows in Postmenopausal Women , 1995 .

[94]  Meyer Js,et al.  Lack of postmenopausal estrogen replacement therapy and the risk of dementia. , 1995 .

[95]  J. Meyer,et al.  Lack of postmenopausal estrogen replacement therapy and the risk of dementia. , 1995, The Journal of neuropsychiatry and clinical neurosciences.

[96]  J. Bauer,et al.  The participation of interleukin-6 in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. , 1992 .

[97]  J. Simpkins,et al.  Role of Estrogens in Peripheral and Cerebral Glucose Utilization , 1992, Reviews in the neurosciences.

[98]  P. Barrett,et al.  Metabolic regulation of plasma apolipoprotein E by estrogen and progesterone in the baboon (Papio sp). , 1991, Metabolism: clinical and experimental.

[99]  E. Niki,et al.  [34] Estrogens as antioxidants , 1990 .

[100]  E. Niki,et al.  Estrogens as antioxidants. , 1990, Methods in enzymology.

[101]  Nambara Toshio,et al.  In vivo effects by estrone sulfate on the central nervous system-senile dementia (Alzheimer's type). , 1989 .

[102]  E. Sonnendecker,et al.  Psychological changes effected by estrogen-progestogen and clonidine treatment in climacteric women. , 1982, American journal of obstetrics and gynecology.

[103]  J. Mortimer,et al.  The Epidemiology of dementia , 1981 .

[104]  L. Jarvik,et al.  Human intelligence: sex differences. , 1975, Acta geneticae medicae et gemellologiae.

[105]  A. Nappi,et al.  Alzheimer ' s Disease : Cell-Specific Pathology Isolates the Hippocampal Formation , 2022 .