More women are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease than men. Because women represent two-thirds of cases, researchers have taken a deeper dive into the differences between aging women and men. The research has shown how declining estrogen levels – before, during, and after menopause – can affect memory and the potential risk for Alzheimer’s disease.

“What estrogen does in the brain, whether it’s the female human brain or animal brain (in animal studies), it enhances neural connections. It helps neurons to communicate with one another, makes them more robust, makes them more resistant and less susceptible to brain diseases like Alzheimer’s disease,” said George Grossberg, MD, the Henry & Amelia Nasrallah Professor in the Division of Geriatric Psychiatry at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. “The lower levels of estrogen – having less of the potential protective effect of estrogen – may contribute to the higher risk in women.”

Grossberg is a consultant for Alzheimer’s Disease studies and he’s a consultant for drug companies with promising new developments in the Alzheimer’s drug pipeline. Grossberg said he has considered the benefits of hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

“There’s been a reevaluation of the potential toxicity of estrogen, the risk-benefit ratio. And we’re moving to thinking that maybe it’s not as bad as we thought it was, as far as risks, and that maybe more people should be on supplementation. But we’re not there yet,” he said. “We want to take advantage of the protective effects of estrogen, but without the toxicity. That’s the goal.”

According to Mayo Clinic’s guidelines, menopause hormone therapy has risks depending on the patients age, dosing, duration, whether it’s taken by mouth or applied on the skin, and personal health risks.