女性ホルモンは記憶力を保つ　

1999/9/15　CNN　

カナダの研究によると、急激に女性ホルモン（エストロゲン）が低下した４０歳代の婦人は記憶力が低下するが、エストロゲンを補充すると記憶力の低下を防げるという。

Female hormones good for the memory
September 15, 1999
Web posted at: 3:35 PM EDT (1935 GMT)

LONDON (Reuters) -- The female hormone estrogen could improve memory, New Scientist magazine said Wednesday.

Canadian expert Barbara Sherwin found that women deprived of estrogen appear to suffer from memory lapses that vanish when the hormone is replaced.

Sherwin and her team of scientists studied a group of 100 women in their mid-40s who suffered a sudden drop in levels of estrogen after their ovaries and uterus were removed.

The women were divided into two groups, one of which received Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), the other a placebo.

They were all shown unrelated words and then asked to recall the second of each pair when cued by the first word. The women on HRT scored just as well as they had done before the operation, but the placebo group performed much worse.

The latter group also complained of not being able to remember things.

"They weren't demented, they weren't losing their jobs or unable to function," said Sherwin. "Nonetheless, it was a documentable decrease."

Copyright 1999 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.