Ask Barbie! Barbara Taylor MD's Q&A addressing your burning questions about Menopause

Ask Barbie: Is Early Menopause Linked to Dementia?

Let’s talk about your brain and what happens to it when you lose estradiol, the estrogen produced by your ovaries.

Welcome to ‘Ask Barbie’, where I answer your most burning questions.

The ‘Ask Barbie’ question “Is early menopause linked to dementia?” is a very easy question to answer because the answer is very logical.

So let’s address this in an orderly way.

Menopause

By definition, menopause is when you lose your estradiol. Estradiol is the estrogen produced by your ovaries. And it has both reproductive and non-reproductive functions.

The reproductive functions pertain to maturing an egg for ovulation each month. The non-reproductive functions pertain to maintenance of three organ systems:

  • The arteries of your heart.
  • The quantity of your bone.
  • And the size of your brain.

This Ask Barbie question pertains to your brain. So let’s talk about your brain.

Estradiol and Your Brain

Estradiol is your fountain of youth. It keeps you young on the inside and the outside. So, when you lose your estradiol at the time of menopause, you start aging rapidly on the inside and the outside.

One of the facets of rapid aging on the inside of your body is rapid aging of your brain. And rapid aging of your brain manifests as shrinkage of your brain.

Your brain is covered with estradiol receptors. You can think of estradiol receptors as parking spots for estradiol. Estradiol is a fuel for your brain. And when you lose your estradiol at menopause, those estradiol parking spots are empty.

Well, when your brain’s estradiol parking spots are empty, you experience symptoms of:

  • Forgetfulness,
  • Difficulty concentrating,
  • Lack of memory,
  • And inability to remember words.

Most women refer to this as “menofog.” 

But if you extrapolate the menofog over time, it constitutes brain shrinkage.

Brain shrinkage during menopause and estradiol loss

Dementia and Alzheimer’s

All hormone deficiencies produce a long list of symptoms that are due to the hormone deficiency. All hormone deficiencies also cause fatal diseases that are due to the hormone deficiency.

Estradiol deficiency causes menofog in the short term and dementia in the long term. And the most severe and common form of dementia is Alzheimer’s Disease.

The diseases that are due to estradiol deficiency develop slowly over time. They are all silent until deadly. This means that your brain starts shrinking little by little when you first lose your estradiol at the time of menopause. And the degree of brain shrinkage depends on how long you are deficient in estradiol.

So, the earlier you lose your estradiol, the earlier your brain starts shrinking.

This is why there are twice as many women with Alzheimer’s than there are men … at every age. 

  • At age 50 twice as many women have Alzheimer’s than men. 
  • At age 60 twice as many women have Alzheimer’s than men. 
  • At age 70 twice as many women have Alzheimer’s than men.
  • Etc. etc. etc.

The reason there are twice as many women with Alzheimer’s than men is because we women lose all of our estradiol, whereas men never lose all of their testosterone.

Research

The science on this is very simple. The problem is that research studies report differing results. And this is what confuses women.

But you don’t really have to rely on research for this.

All you have to do is listen to your own brain. If you have menofog as part of your menopause experience, that is your own brain’s way of telling you that it is shrinking. It’s really that simple.

So listen to your own brain rather than listening to insane research studies that try to make you think that it’s fine to have menofog. All your episodes of menofog add up over time. And the longer you experience menofog, the more your brain shrinks.

So this Ask Barbie question has a very simple answer. And that’s why it is so short.

The Answer

There is no question that early menopause causes dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease.

The association between the two is more than just a “link.” There is an actual cause-effect relationship.

Ask Barbie: How Do I Find the Right Doctor to Prescribe HRT?Ask Barbie! Barbara Taylor MD's Q&A addressing your burning questions about Menopause
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