ABSTRACT
It is well known that estrogens exhibit several psychotropic effects in humans and that a relative lack of endogenous estrogens may even be involved in the pathogenesis of psychologic dysfunctions. Among those, depressive symptoms are the most common and accordingly estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) has been recommended as a moodstabilizing intervention in postmenopausal women as well as for the treatment of the premenstrual syndrome.1-3 In addition, recent studies have provided evidence of systematic activation effects of estrogens on cerebral activity and cognitive function.4 In animal studies, a beneficial effect of estrogen on memory dysfunction and disturbances in cerebral energy metabolism,5 as well as an estrogen-induced enhancement of glucose transporter expression in cerebral cortical neurons of primates,6 have been shown. Consequently, the potential use of estrogens as a cognition enhancer in physiologic aging has been previously considered. Apart from that, several epidemiologic studies have
suggested that estrogen replacement might not only improve cognition in physiologic aging but may also exhibit beneficial effects on the onset and course of Alzheimer’s dementia or Alzheimer’s disease (AD), which is one of the most common and most devastating disorders of the elderly. The present chapter reviews current evidence in favor of beneficial neurotropic and psychotropic effects of estrogens in AD and also aims to address certain unresolved questions in the field.
