Evaluation of high-dose estrogen and high-dose estrogen plus methyltestosterone treatment on cognitive task performance in postmenopausal women.

Author(s): Wisniewski AB, Nguyen TT, Dobs AS

Affiliation(s): Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md 21287, USA. amy@jhu.edu

Publication date & source: 2002, Horm Res., 58(3):150-5.

Publication type: Clinical Trial; Randomized Controlled Trial

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the cognitive effects of high-dose oral estrogen alone or in combination with oral methyltestosterone in postmenopausal women. METHODS: Participants were tested with a randomized, double-blind design on the Identical Pictures, Cube Comparisons, Building Memory and Shape Memory tasks before and after 4 months of hormone treatment. RESULTS: Women receiving estrogen and methyltestosterone maintained a steady level of performance on the Building Memory task, whereas those receiving estrogen alone showed a decrease in performance. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that the addition of testosterone to high-dose estrogen replacement exerts a protective effect on memory performance in postmenopausal women. Copyright 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel