Studies have been carried out on 63 women in the post-menopausal stage of life, all of whom were taking HRT. Their mental wellness and wellbeing was carefully assessed, particularly in relation to a genetic variant called APOE-e4 and also telomere length, which can be an indicator of cell ageing.
The gene APOE-e4 gene is liked to an increased risk of the carrier developing Alzheimer’s disease in later life, and there have also been studies which have indicated a link between the telomere length, and the cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
A relationship between the female hormone oestrogen, which drops sharply during the menopause, and the length of telomeres has been proposed. This particular study seems to back up the theory that telomere shortening is somehow linked to the APOE-e4 gene.
Tests showed that the post-menopausal participants in the study who were carriers of the gene had a much higher chance of having shorter telomeres. The study then proved that these women has less chance of the telomere length reducing if they stayed on an extended course of HRT, which replaces hormones. Conversely, women who were not carriers of the gene actually showed less reduction in the length of their telomeres if they stopped taking HRT.
Whilst previous studies have seemed to indicate that taking hormone replacement therapy does not prevent patients from developing Alzheimer’s, what this new study may indicate is that the efficacy of HRT is dependent on whether or not the patient carries a specific gene variant. This research was carried out at the University of California in the United States and was published in the journal PLOS ONE.