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Estrogen may have a beneficial effect on the risk and course of Alzheimer's disease (AD) through several mechanisms, including improvement of cerebral blood flow, stimulation of the neuron, or gliacyte and interaction with genetic factors. In this paper, the therapeutic and etiologic research of the role of estrogen in cognitive function and dementia is reviewed. Findings to date are promising but far from conclusive. In therapeutic research, interpretation of studies is hampered by the small sizes of the studies and differences in methodology. Most etiological studies have been limited to retrospective studies in which the history of estrogen use was obtained from an informant. Follow-up studies conducted to date have yielded controversial results. Further research is needed to elucidate the role of estrogen in the pathogenesis and progression of dementia. Subjects genetically susceptible for AD may prove to be an important high-risk group to target in preventive, therapeutic and etiologic research.

Original publication

DOI

10.3109/01674829709085578

Type

Conference paper

Publication Date

06/1997

Volume

18

Pages

121 - 125

Addresses

Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Erasmus University Medical School, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Keywords

Humans, Alzheimer Disease, Estrogens, Risk Factors, Menopause, Middle Aged, Family Health, Female