How low estrogen can affect women’s brains. Forgetfulness, and fuzzy thinking
There is another reason why women need to look into the healing properties of hormones. As I’ve mentioned, as a horone specialist and sex therapist I went on hormones at 40. I wish I had gone on them at 35. Despite having no real symptoms I feel so much better. And now there are new reasons to look seriously at hormones.
Last week’s conference at the University of Toronto (april 2011) suggests that there may be a strong link between low estrogens and forgetfulness in women.
You might not know that seventy per cent of Alzheimer’s patients are
Most brain research (in fact reseach in general) is done on men (or male rats). It turns out that certain types of estrogen can impact the part of women’s brain dealing with memory and cognitive functioning. Low estrogen has been associated with the 7 dwarfs of menopause. Itchy, sleepy, forgetful, bitchy, dumpy, hot fashy, and all dried up. It may be more of a factor with women without a lot of belly fat (size 10 or smaller). Belly fat is a source of estrogen in women (one good thing of being curvy).
Mood and memory are key componets of who a woman is. Says the researcher:
“We’ve always assumed that women’s brains would be like men’s brains, and data that are coming are showing this is not necessarily the case,” Einstein said. “This will have important ramifications for the aging brain and also for disease, the progression of disease and the treatment of disease.”
In my words, if you are having ovaries removed, or aren’t looking at hormone replacement therapy you might want to look again. If the dry vagina and bad skin and hair doesn’t frighten you. Dementia just might.
Here’s the link for the study: