Research suggests taking HRT DOESN'T give you protection against dementia despite claims treatment has 'protective effects' on the brain By Mail on Sunday Reporter Published: 01:13 BST, 4 August 2024 | Updated: 12:22 BST, 6 August 2024 e-mail 18 shares 49 View comments It'a an eye-catching claim often trumpeted by celebrity doctors and health campaigners on social media. Taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to relieve symptoms of the menopause also has ‘protective effects’ on the brain, they say – and can reduce women’s risk of developing dementia. TV presenter Davina McCall , whose father had Alzheimer’s, said in 2021, the year before he died, that she hoped HRT would provide her with ‘a bit more protection’ against the disease.
But the Lancet Commission, which analysed the best research on this subject for the first time, has poured cold water on those claims. It even found evidence that there may be a slightly increased risk of dementia for some taking these mid-life hormones, which usually involves a combination of oestrogen and progesterone. Dementia is more common in women than men – almost two thirds of those with Alzheimer’s, for example, are women.
Stock image: Hormone replacement therapy, also known as HRT. The hormone changes of the menopause have been suggested as a possible reason for this, which is why HRT – which replenishes levels of oestrogen and progesterone as they decline in midlife – has been suggested as protective The hormone c.