Feeling older and… what’s the other word?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Alzheimer’s disease happens when sticky plaques accumulate in the aging brain, damaging and killing neurons. And women are more likely to experience it. Why?
Enter Madeline Wood Alexander and team from Sunnybrook Research Institute.
They tracked the memory of hundreds of women and examined their donated brains after death.
Results? EARLIER menopause made the brain MORE vulnerable to Alzheimer’s disease.
Risks were highest when the synapses that connect brain cells were already weakened.
BUT hormone therapy may OFFSET the Alzheimer’s risk associated with early menopause! This study offers a new clue to protect our memories.
Talk about steps to meno-PAUSE risk to Alzheimer’s.
Reference: Alexander, M. W., Honer, W. G., Saloner, R., Galea, L. A. M., Bennett, D. A., Rabin, J. S., & Casaletto, K. B. (2025). The interplay between age at menopause and synaptic integrity on Alzheimer’s disease risk in women. Science Advances, 11(10), eadt0757. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adt0757