Date of Award

4-30-2012

Document Type

Research Paper

First Advisor

Karen Redwine

Abstract

This senior project is a research paper discussing Alzheimer’s disease. The incidence of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is significantly higher in women compared to men after the age of 80. Higher AD rates may be attributed to changes in estrogen levels around menopause age, and so hormone replacement therapy (HRT), specifically estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) has been considered as a clinical measure to prevent AD. Studies on the beneficial effects of ERT on the brain have yielded inconsistent results. This review aims to assess the possible neuroprotective effects of ERT on preventing or attenuating AD by considering recent literature on the subject. Both literature that support and refute the benefits of ERt are exampines and compared to find possible causes for the variable findings. The effects of ERT are considered more specifically with regards to Beta-amyloid protein accumulation, tau protein tangles, cholinergic activity, NMDA receptors and oxidative stress. In addition, research that suggests women who use ERT during a critical window period, which appears to be around the start of menopause or early during the latent pathogenetic stages before late progression of AD. Despite the various experiments that have been conducted, the results for the therapeutic effects of ERT against AD are inconsistent, method of administration, dosage amount, duration of treatment and measurement of biomarkers for AD, and therefore need to be examined further.

Download

Share

COinS