Estrogen patches play an integral part in treatment plans for many women experiencing uncomfortable menopause symptoms. These patches are effective at combating hormone deficiency symptoms such as decreased energy and hot flashes. Now, however, it appears that estrogen patches may have an additional benefit. In a recent study, doctors found that estrogen patches and Alzheimer’s prevention may be related for post-menopausal women.
What is Menopause?
Menopause occurs 12 months after a woman’s last period, around the age of 51 for the average woman. The transition and menopause itself can be very tumultuous and downright uncomfortable for those going through it.
The most common symptoms are hot flashes, decreased energy, lighter periods, heavier periods, increased anxiety, fluctuating emotional states, and sleep disruption. All these symptoms are due to the hormonal changes that are going on inside the body.
Often, doctors will prescribe estrogen patches to help negate these symptoms as well as maintain hormone levels after menopause has occurred.
Estrogen Patches
As mentioned before, most women experience menopause around the age of 51. However, doctors have found that many don't receive estrogen replacement treatment until the age of 65, a full 14 years after they've gone through menopause.
The issue is that there is a rapid decline in estrogen production that follows menopause and this 14-year delay of estrogen treatment can have a negative effect on a woman’s body.
In fact, for women who carry the APOE e4 gene, a gene directly linked to Alzheimer's, a decline in estrogen levels can greatly increase the chance of that gene being activated.
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| Estrogen Patch. Source: wa.gov |
Current Research into Alzheimer’s and Estrogen Patches
Noticing this critical period of rapid decrease in estrogen that follows menopause, doctors at the Mayo Clinic conducted a study where they reviewed the effects of hormonal replacement in women that occurs before the age of 65.
What they found could have significant implications for the study of Alzheimer's disease. Women who were assigned to wear an estrogen patch showed less amyloid brain deposit, a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, than any other group in the study. In other words, women using estrogen patches were less likely to develop Alzheimer's than other participants that were either taking oral estrogen replacements or were receiving no treatment at all.
Researchers also found that the estrogen patch treatment proved to be most successful for women who carried the APOE e4 gene mentioned above.
What Does This Mean?
The research conducted is still in its preliminary stages and tests must be conducted on a larger scale, as there were only 68 women observed in this initial study.
However, the findings of this study show just how important early intervention of estrogen hormonal replacement is for post-menopausal women and how estrogen patches can help decrease Alzheimer's risk in later years.
As researchers continue to develop post-menopausal treatment plans and the benefits of estrogen patches, be sure to speak with your doctor regarding estrogen replacements and find a treatment plan that is best for you and your menopause.
