Natural hormones produced by women have a protective effect on their brain, according to what a new study led by researchers at the University of Sherbrooke reveals. According to the results published in the scientific journal Neurologyfrom the American Academy of Neurology, the longer a woman is exposed to her natural hormones, the less likely the small blood vessels in her brain will show signs of disease.
These findings are not trivial since, in concrete terms, healthy cerebral blood vessels reduce the risks of suffering strokes, developing cognitive disorders or even suffering from degenerative diseases.
The paper titled “Association of Cumulative Lifetime Exposure to Female Hormones With Cerebral Small Vessel Disease in Postmenopausal Women in the UK Biobank” was published last week by the scientific journal Neurology, published by the American Academy of Neurology. It is co-signed by six researchers, including Professor Kevin Whittigstall and his student Samantha Côté, both from the Sherbrooke University Hospital Research Center.
During her work, Samantha Côté, who holds a doctorate in radiation sciences and biomedical imaging, observed a link between the rate of production of estrogen and progesterone and blood flow in the brains of women. She then wondered whether it could also have longer-term effects.
The researchers therefore examined data on 9,163 postmenopausal women taken from the UK-Biobank. They calculated the number of years between the first menstruation at the time of puberty and the last at the time of menopause. They then added factors to the calculation, for example adding years for the number of pregnancies or subtracting years for taking birth control medications.
The result is that women would benefit from a clear protective effect from 37 years of exposure to natural hormones. Then, the effect is increased by additional years. As the average was 39 years of exposure to hormones among the 9,163 cases studied, it appears that many women are enjoying these benefits.
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