ABSTRACT
Meta-analyses of observational data consistently show a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease among women who have received hormone replacement therapy (HRT)1-3, although a recent study suggests that only early use confers this protection4. By contrast, the evidence on HRT and normal cognitive aging is inconsistent. Some of the variation in results may reflect true differences in hormone effects and the possibility that HRT confers cognitive benefits to some but not all women. Individual differences such as age, time since menopause, menopausal symptoms and surgical versus natural menopause may modulate the effects of estrogen on cognition. The effects might also vary with different regimens, treatment durations and doses. Additionally, some of the variation in results may reflect varying degrees of sensitivity of the measures and/or procedures selected to study cognitive function. This chapter focuses on specific issues in the collection and interpretation of neuropsychological data in studies of cognition and HRT.
