Exercise may offset the increased risk of alzheimer’s disease

Exercise may offset the increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease that comes with long-term use of pharmaceutical hormone replacement therapy (HRT), according to a new study.

Or you could reduce your Alzheimer’s risk even more by exercising AND avoiding long-term use of synthetic HRT.

My how times have changed. There was a moment – back in the early days of synthetic HRT – when researchers believed this therapy helped prevent breast cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer’s. In recent years, however, studies have associated HRT use with an INCREASED risk of those diseases.

But HRT is still around – still prescribed by many doctors and still used by many women – even though there are safe alternatives, such as balancing menopausal hormone changes with bioidentical hormones. (See the e-Alert “Where’s the Shame?” (2/7/06) for details about bioidentical hormones and how executives for Wyeth Pharmaceuticals have taken steps to obstruct women’s right to choose this safer therapy.)

In this new study, just published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging, researchers investigated 54 menopausal women who used HRT for more than 10 years. This usage was associated with poorer mental acuity test scores and a reduction in tissue volume in several areas of the brain. But these negative effects were reduced among women with higher fitness levels.

Sources:
“Exercise may Counter Mental Decline from HRT” Reuters Health, 1/27/06, reutershealth.com