hi all,
the news hound is back, although a bit late. and somewhere along=20
the way, she lost the caps key again.
i just struggled through an almost 'lost' weekend due to the=20
dreaded female/hormone/pd 'freeze-ups'. [i.e. when sinemet=20
mysteriously transforms itself into baby aspirin]=20
and then the recent messages about female hormones have started=20
me digging through the paterson/parkinsn archives for related=20
posts. i've got some going back to dec. 94.=20
i thought i'd post a 'summary thread' of them, since we have so=20
many new members. maybe someone out there will make a connection=20
that will lead to ...?
whaddya'll think? about the 'summary thread', i mean? if it's=20
not too long?
janet
ps
i thought these two news reports on the same subject were=20
revealing in their differences.
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Post-menopausal estrogen is said to counter Alzheimer's
----------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright =A9 1996 Nando.net
Copyright =A9 1996 N.Y. Times News Service=20
NEW YORK (Aug 16, 1996 2:17 p.m. EDT) -- Taking estrogen after=20
menopause may reduce a woman's risk of developing Alzheimer's or=20
delay onset of the disease, scientists said Thursday.
In a study of 1,124 elderly women being published Saturday in The=20
Lancet, a British medical journal, and announced at a news=20
conference at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in Manhattan,=20
researchers found that only 5.8 percent of women who had taken=20
estrogen developed Alzheimer's, compared with 16.3 percent of=20
women who had not used the hormone.
With each passing year of the five-year study, only 2.7 percent=20
of the women who had used estrogen developed Alzheimer's as=20
against 8.4 percent of those who had not used it. Moreover, the=20
longer the women took estrogen, the lower their risk.
Black, White and Hispanic women benefited equally from estrogen,=20
as did women with varying educational and socioeconomic levels.
The findings are potentially the most promising advance ever made=20
toward the prevention of Alzheimer's disease, said Dr. Neil=20
Buckholtz of the National Institute on Aging, in Bethesda, Md.=20
"This is the third study that's shown the same kind of effect,"=20
he said, adding that it is also the best to date.
Dr. Zaven Khachaturian, director of the Reagan Research Institute=20
at the Alzheimer's Association, in Chicago, said, "This study=20
opens new vistas."
Researchers are not sure how estrogen might protect against=20
Alzheimer's, but studies have suggested that it helps support the=20
growth, survival and repair of nerve cells, and that it can=20
protect them from being injured by toxic substances.
The research might point the way towards other compounds that=20
could delay or prevent Alzheimer's disease in men as well as=20
women, he said.
"But we can't recommend that women take estrogen based on this=20
study," Buckholtz said. "Women are going to consider that, but=20
the most reasonable thing to do, with their physicians, is to=20
look at their own risks for Alzheimer's and a variety of other=20
illnesses. Estrogen does seem to reduce the risk of =20
cardiovascular disease, but it may increase the risk of breast=20
cancer. Each woman has to factor those into the risk-benefit=20
decision she's going to make."
Buckholtz and the scientists who conducted the study urged that=20
further research be undertaken quickly to see if the findings=20
could be verified.
In the study, a team of researchers led by Dr. Richard Mayeux, a=20
professor of neurology, psychiatry and public health at Columbia,=20
interviewed the women and asked whether they had ever taken=20
estrogen after menopause. Then, the researchers tracked the=20
women's health over the next five years and recorded how many=20
developed Alzheimer's.
The study showed a strong association between estrogen use and a=20
lowered risk of Alzheimer's, but did not provide information=20
about the most beneficial doses, how long it should be taken or=20
the best formulation of estrogen. In addition, because the=20
researchers relied solely on the women's own memories of whether=20
they had used estrogen, sometimes many years in the past, the=20
figures may not be as reliable as those gathered in an experiment=20
in which patients are tracked from the moment they begin taking a=20
medication.
Mayheux and his colleagues hope to answer those questions in a=20
controlled clinical trial, in which volunteer patients are
assigned at random to groups that take either a known dose of=20
estrogen or a placebo, a dummy drug. "The clinical trial is the=20
gold standard," Mayheux said. A study involving 1,500 to 2,000=20
women in their 70s could probably provide the needed information=20
within five or six years, he said.
Considering the known benefits of estrogen, he said, giving women=20
placebos instead of the hormone raises ethical questions. "But=20
scientifically," he said, "it's the best thing to do, and I think=20
there are still enough lingering doubts about safety that it's=20
probably worthwhile to do it."
----------------------------------------------------------------
Estrogen Therapy May Reduce Risk Of Alzheimer's Disease=20
----------------------------------------------------------------
WESTPORT, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Results of a study published in the=20
current issue of The Lancet suggest that estrogen therapy, when=20
used by postmenopausal women for at least ten years, can reduce=20
the risk of Alzheimer's disease by 30% to 40%.=20
Dr. Richard Mayeux of Columbia University and colleagues at other=20
New York sites followed 1,124 elderly women for 1 to 5 years. The=20
group studied was initially free of Alzheimer's disease,=20
Parkinson's disease and stroke.=20
Overall, the New York team observed that 15% of the women=20
developed Alzheimer's disease, which is "...expected in a group=20
of women of this age."=20
When Dr. Mayeux evaluated only the cohort of women who took=20
estrogen therapy for at least 10 years after menopause, he=20
observed that "...a history of oestrogen use during the=20
postmenopausal period significantly delay[ed] the onset of=20
Alzheimer's disease and lower[ed] the risk of disease."=20
In a related editorial, Drs. Alistair Burns and Declan Murphy of=20
Manchester and London, UK, respectively, reported that "...sex=20
steroids modify development and ageing..." in regions of the=20
brain that deteriorate in Alzheimer's. In addition, they point=20
out that "...oestrogen is an important co-factor in the actions=20
of nerve growth factors." These actions, they suggested, may=20
underlie the mechanism of protection against Alzheimer's disease.=20
Dr. Mayeux calls for a prospective clinical trial that would=20
involve perimenopausal women.=20
Lancet 1996;348:429-432.=20
Copyright =A9 1996 Reuters Limited.=20
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