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Longer estrogen treatment activates working memory in young postmenopausal women
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SAN DIEGO — Unique processing strategies for working memory may be implemented by estrogen treatment in older postmenopausal women, according to study findings presented here.
“Neuroimaging study indicate that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, key areas involved in working memory and executive function, are functionally altered by both estrogen and aging; however, how aging influences the effect of estrogen on these critical regions is not well understood,” the researchers wrote.
Janet E. Hall, MD, MSc, of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and colleagues conducted a double-blinded, placebo-controlled study on 19 younger (aged 46-56 years) and 16 older (aged 65-79 years) postmenopausal women assigned to placebo or low-dose estrogen treatment for 1 month to determine if there is a benefit to cognitive function with treatment. Functional MRI was used while participants completed a working memory task at baseline and at 2 days and 1 month after treatment initiation.
The younger group had greater activation in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex at baseline compared with the older group (P < .02).
Age group, treatment and time showed significant interactions with the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. The duration of treatment influenced the interaction between age and treatment type; whether placebo or estrogen. The younger group showed less activation response in the specific dorsolateral prefrontal cortex at 2 days of estrogen treatment compared with the older group whereas at 1 month there was greater activation in the younger group compared with the older group.
“In the absence of treatment, activation of the [dorsolateral prefrontal cortex] in response to a test of working memory is decreased as a function of age in postmenopausal women,” the researchers wrote. “Estrogen exposure is initially associated with greater activation in specific [dorsolateral prefrontal cortex] subregions in older compared to younger postmenopausal women. However, with longer estrogen treatment, activation in other subregions is significantly greater in younger than in older postmenopausal women.” – by Amber Cox
Reference:
Hall JE, et al. OR15-6. Presented at: The Endocrine Society Annual Meeting; March 5-8, 2015; San Diego.
Disclosure: Hall reports no relevant financial disclosures.