HRT May Cause Brain Shrinkage

Two new studies published in the journal Neurology found that Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) increase the risk of stroke, heart attack and breast cancer, and, in addition, shrinks women's brains.

These results appear paradoxical in comparison to studies on younger women, which have found that estrogen therapy can help defog the brain, improve cognition and prevent Alzheimer's in later life.

Dr. Pauline Maki of the University of Illinois at Chicago offers one possible explanation for the disparate findings: estrogen has a "healthy cell bias." In other words, estrogen is good for healthy cells and bad for unhealthy ones. Maki theorized that the study provided estrogen to women whose mental faculties were already fading, putting strain on cells that were already unhealthy.

Both studies were offshoots of the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study (WHIMS), which found an increased dementia risk to women taking hormones.

Acupuncturists have been using acupuncture and herbal medicine to treat symptoms of menopause since the year 3 A.D. The treatments and recommendations cover everything from diet and lifestyle to specific prescriptions.

Instead of trying to halt or reverse the change, acupuncture and Traditonal Oriental Medicine gives the woman's body the resources it needs to make the transition smoothly.