Alzheimer's risk may be 35% lower with common menopause treatment, study finds

Women who used estrogen-only menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) were less likely to develop Alzheimer’s-related brain changes or dementia, according to a large Stanford study published Aug. 12 in Neurology.

The researchers analyzed post-mortem data from 21,462 participants, comparing 258 women who reported estrogen-only MHT use with approximately 2,701 women who reported no MHT use.

The researchers examined the brains for signs of Alzheimer’s disease, including amyloid plaques, neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid-plaque density.