Lack of Estrogen May Play A Role In Women and Alzheimer’s

Prior to my wife being diagnosed with dementia, and later it was confirmed to be Alzheimer’s. I knew very little about this cruel thief. A thief that slowly robs a person of their very existence. First, it injects confusion into their minds. Forgetting appointments, recent conversations, where they placed common items. Like keys, eyeglasses, eye contact cases, personal items like combs and hair brushes.

Alzheimer’s a slow thief

Then it continues to pilfer their ability to remember common everyday facts. Like what day, month or year it is. How to follow basic instructions, both verbal and written.  Followed by stealing their ability to perform simple math. The disease slowly steals their brain. The brain actually shrinks becoming a fraction of what it was prior to taking up residence within a living soul.

I was a reluctant student this was not a subject that I wanted to study

I have come to learn more than I ever wanted to know about this disease. One is that it disproportionally affects women more than men. Some of the factors are only starting to be understood.

Estrogen or the lack thereof may play a big part in why it targets women. I have been researching for a couple of weeks about hysterectomy’s and how that may play a role. Especially if the ovaries are removed. It appears that if a woman has an oophorectomy (oh-of-uh-REK-tuh-me). Which is the surgical procedure to remove one or both of their ovaries. A woman’s likelihood of Alzheimer’s rises considerably and the younger the greater their likelihood of being struck.

More Research Needed

I am continuing to research this topic and will write about it more in the future. What called me to the keyboard this morning was a short segment on CBS This Morning, about women and childbirth. Once again it mentions the production of estrogen or lack of production. Childbirth may actually lower the risk of Alzheimer’s.

Here is a link to the CBS segment

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/motherhood-could-play-a-role-in-alzheimers-risk-new-research-says/