Page 214 - Mind Games The Aging Brain and How to Keep it Healthy

198 • Chapter 6

40
35
30
25
Scores 20 Using Estrogen
No Estrogen
15
10
5
0
Naming Verbal Fluency Comprehension Drawing Verbal Recall Digital Span Visual Span

Test Category

Figure 6-5 Test Scores for Women Alzheimer’s Patients. Data
from Jon Queijo,“Tracking the Estrogen Effect, Connections to
Memory and Alzheimer’s Disease,” Brain Work (January/February,
1998): 1-3.

the risk of endometrial and breast cancer. For women with
a family history of breast cancer, ERT may not be an ap-
propriate therapy. Consult your doctor.
Notice the test scores for women diagnosed with
Alzheimer’s disease who were and were not using estrogen
therapy. In all cases, the women using estrogen scored
higher, especially on comprehension tests.
Notice Figure 6-6, which demonstrates the results of es-
trogen therapy on a group of retired women. This study
demonstrates that those who took estrogen longer had a
significantly lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications such as
Ibuprofen actually may reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s. Peo-
ple who had taken these drugs for a minimum of two years
had half the risk of Alzheimer’s disease as those who had
not taken the drug. 22