Many patients who undergo chemotherapy report problems with their concentration and memory. These problems can be attributed to the use of a system approach to kill the cancer which can of course damage cells in the nervous system. Researchers are exploring a more concentrated approach to cancer which involves treating the endocrine system.
Nearly 20 percent of women in the United States are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. Mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes cause women to be art a higher risk for inheriting breast and ovarian cancer. There are other factors such as environmental factors and lifestyle that can also make a person more susceptible to breast cancer. Factors such as early menstruation and increased age which leads to menopause can increase the risks of cancer. Thankfully, as science advances along with awareness, researchers are creating more effective and personalized treatment options such as hormone therapy.
In “Perimenopausal use of hormone therapy is associated with enhanced memory and hippocampal function later in life” by Pauline Maki et al, discuss how women begin hormone therapy treatment to lessen the symptoms of perimenopause which aids in preventing other health problems including, but not limited to, breast cancer, heart disease, and memory. Their research reveals that women who received hormone therapy had greater memory and hippocampal function in their later stages of life. The women who were treated had an increase in areas of activation compared to their counterparts who were not treated. The women were told to recite things verbally, a memory retrieval practice, which allows for the conclusion that “alterations in brain function associated with perimenopausal initiation of HT are favorable.”
Many scientists can agree that over time there is a loss of the size of the hippocampus due to Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. Alexis Wnuk and two other researchers from the University of Pittsburg and the Syracuse University wrote “Estrogens, hormone therapy, and hippocampal volume in postmenopausal women” as a review on whether hormone therapy has a positive or negative effect on hippocampal volumes later in life. Their research suggests that women who received hormone therapy have higher volumes in their hippocampus then those who did not. Therefore, “hormone therapy might have protective or proliferative effects on hippocampal volume.”
The data between perimenopausal women and postmenopausal women is similar therefore it is very safe to conclude that hormone therapy can improve and maintain cognitive functions. More of the data emphasizes how much more positive the effects of the therapy are if treatment begins after menopause. However, there is still more research that should be conducted to understand brain aging in women with breast cancer who are treated with hormone therapy.
References
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3046212/
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