HRT and Alzheimer's Disease

The bad news is that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may increase the likelihood of breast cancer in postmenopausal women. The good news, according to the results of a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (November 6, 2002), is that women who have taken HRT for at least 10 years are 2.5 times less likely to develop Alzheimer?s disease than non-HRT women.

The following are 2 other key points from this study: First, there was no benefit unless HRT had been begun several years before the onset of mental decline. Second, vitamin and calcium supplements had no effect on Alzheimer?s disease risk.