Unveiling the Role of Estrogen in Women's Cognitive Health

A key aspect of menopause is the decline in estrogen production, which not only causes the end of menstruation but also leads to neuropsychiatric effects such as 'brain fog', depression, and anxiety. A newly published brain imaging study in Scientific Reports showed that the menopause transition was associated with a progressively higher density of estrogen receptors (ER) in brain cells. Additionally, the study pioneered the use of PET imaging, highlighting its potential as a valuable tool for studying the brain effects of menopause and estrogen therapy.

In the study, lead author Lisa Mosconi, PhD, and her colleagues scanned the brains of 54 healthy women aged 40-65 using PET with a tracer that binds to ERs. Comparisons of scans from women at different menopausal stages revealed progressively higher ER density in several estrogen-regulated brain networks in the postmenopausal and perimenopausal groups compared with premenopausal controls. The researchers found that high ER density in some of these regions was associated not only with menopause status but also with reported cognitive and mood symptoms related to menopause.

Recently, Mosconi, an associate professor of neuroscience in neurology and radiology, and director of the Women’s Brain Initiative at Weill Cornell Medicine, sat down with NeurologyLive® in an interview to discuss how sex hormones like estrogen influence neurological conditions. She also talked about the implications from the study and the ability to measure hormones directly in the brain for women's health. Moreover, Mosconi, who also serves the director of the Alzheimer's Prevention Program at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian, commented on how hormone therapy, particularly estradiol, may impact brain health during menopause.