HRT ‘could boost memory and help ward off stress’

MANY women of a certain age already hail it as providing a welcome relief from the discomfort of the menopause.

But as well as stopping hot flushes and night sweats, HRT can also boost short-term memory and help women feel less stressed, research suggests.

It is thought this is because oestrogen, which is topped up by hormone replacement therapy, stops the body from producing too much of the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol can impair short-term memory, so it appears replacing oestrogen also improves brain function.

The US researchers found women who had undergone HRT did better in memory tests under stress and had lower levels of cortisol.

They recruited women with an average age of 66, half of whom had been taking oestrogen therapy estradiol for around five years, while the others received a placebo.

The women were asked to complete a memory task after holding their hands in warm water for three minutes – considered not a stressful experience – and then again after putting their hands in cold water – which causes stress. For the memory task, they were given a series of sentences, asked whether each made sense and then to recall the last word of each.

When the 42 participants did the task after putting their hands in warm water, they performed equally well. But after the ice water, women not on HRT saw a spike in their cortisol levels – and then did worse in the memory test than the women who had had the treatment.

The study’s lead author, Dr Alexandra Ycaza Herrera, of the University of Southern California, said: ‘Our study suggests oestrogen treatment after menopause protects the memory that is needed for short-term cognitive tasks from the effects of stress.

‘‘Although more research is needed, this may make oestrogen therapy more attractive as a treatment for menopausal symptoms as well as a potential preventative strategy against a host of other age-related declines.’ Older people are thought to struggle more with their memory in stressful circumstances because their brain overreacts to the psychological pressure and produces more cortisol. The stress hormone is believed to interfere with the ability of the brain to both encode and recall memories. But oestrogen stops this from happening by regulating the production of cortisol.

Publishing their findings in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, the scientists acknowledged there were limitations to their research, but added: ‘This study suggests there are other roles of oestrogen therapy besides relief from menopauserelated symptoms.’

A study last year by Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston in the US found women become worse at learning and retrieving information after the menopause.

It linked HRT with better memory performance, with experts suggesting oestrogen therapy might be used to help ward off Alzheimer’s.

However, HRT has been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer, and the number taking it has fallen from around 36 per cent in the early 2000s to around 10 per cent today. HRT tablets have also been linked to an increased risk of blood clots.

‘Other roles of oestrogen’