S.we understand that there is one correlation between hormones and the brain. Female and male hormones (estrogen and progesterone, testosterone) influence the development of the Central Nervous System already in the prenatal phase, determining the differences in this organ between male and female.
In addition, there are many moments in a woman’s life when hormone levels can affect her brain function: women are very sensitive especially to hormonal variations and there are different situations that see a correlation between hormonal changes and mood changes these include pre-menstrual syndrome, post-partum depression and menopause.
What is Brain Fog, the cognitive fog
Especially in the “Menopausal transition” which actually lasts a few years, women begin to experience typical ailments such as hot flashes. To which they associate neurological symptoms such as i sleep disordersthe mood changethe difficulty concentrating and the sense of confusion for which a new English term has been coined “Brain Fog” that is cognitive fog.
How the Brain Changes in Menopause
New neuroimaging studies indicate that gods are made at this stage of life changes in the structure of the brain itself, its connectivity, its energy metabolism. Furthermore, it has been hypothesized that these changes differ in the various stages of the menopausal transition (pre-peri and post-menopause).
From this point of view we can speak of neurological transition contemporary to the hormonal menopausal transition.
These processes appear to affect regions of the brain that override complex cognitive processes. They also do not depend on aging alone, as indicated by comparative studies with samples of men of the same age.
Recovery after menopause
Even the biomarkers used for the evaluation of cerebral metabolism and the anatomical modifications that occur (for example the volume of the gray matter) they seem to stabilize and recover after menopausesuggesting a kind of adaptation mechanism that corresponds to the preservation of cognitive performance.
Alzheimer’s and menopause: who is more predisposed
In this phase, however, in women with a predisposition to Alzheimer’s disease, because they are carriers of the mutation for apolipoprotein E-4, a predisposing factor for the disease, the deposition of the amyloid -Beta, a typical sign of the disease, is more pronounced.
Estrogen helps the brain
It has long been known how important it is the action of estrogen on particular areas of our brain (through the interaction with ⍺ receptors positioned on the cerebral cortex and with β receptors of the parabasal nuclei) and how this interaction leads, through genomic and non-genomic mechanisms, to regulation of brain functions.
Hormone Replacement Therapy and Alzheimer’s
We still know little and we lack the definitive data to understand if this action can be truly protective against degenerative diseases such as dementia in general and Azheimer’s disease in particular.
Evaluations on the usefulness in this sense of hormone replacement therapy in the prevention of this disease have also undergone fluctuating trends. Older studies indicated a protective effect of the therapy but subsequent studies instead, even a worsening in older women who were still taking hormones.
Precisely for this reason, as it happened for cardiovascular disease, it was hypothesized a “window period”, more typical of the onset of menopause in which the therapy can be protective and at the same time resolve the symptoms most typical of this phase as insomnia especially for nocturnal awakenings, depression and irritability. If taken at an older age, however, it could only make the situation worse.
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How important is the correct lifestyle
Here too, the lifestyle is fundamental, we know that nutrition (antioxidant substances contained above all in vegetables and fats of vegetable origin) physical activity and above all work and recreational activities are fundamental. We have to provide our brain with pleasant sensations that come to us from curiosity and from doing things that we like and are passionate about.
This is to keep the brain in good condition, to provide it with those neurotransmitters useful to keep it in good working order.
Instead, where the signs of involvement of cognitive functions are particularly evident, especially if there have been cases of Alzheimer’s and dementia at home, it is better to contact a specialist who can, through the use of specific cognitive tests and adequate diagnostic tools (MRI and PET ) evaluate the possible presence of initial signs of disease and then set up a possible therapy.
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