1-The memory; hormones involvement, what treatments to
propose
Memory loss is a common feature of the aging process.Among the various causes (stress,nutritional imbalance,genetic factors,vascular and metabolic factors,inflammaging etc.),the loss of the hormonal balance exerts an important role in the promotion of aging related loss of memory. The aging related decline of the production of estrogens,androgens,melatonin,thyroid hormones,gh,vasopressin,dhea is an important factor of the pathogenesis of memory loss.In this lecture is shown the role of these hormones in the pathogenesis of aging related memory loss. Pregnenolone ,as we know,is the first hormonal step of the impressive steroidal cascade that takes place in the gonads,adrenal glands,skin and in the nervous system too.Pregnenolone improves memory process through various mechanism,direct and indirect,genomic and not genomic.Dhea,pregnenolone natural metabolite,exerts similar promnesic actions. Estrogen may be very specific in its effect on memory. Postmenopausal women may be experiencing a change in thinking and a decline in cognitive functions.In particular, women who had one or both ovaries removed before menopause were nearly two times more likely to develop cognitive problems or dementia compared to women who did not have the surgery. Estrogen-only Hormone replacement therapy appears to have a positive effect on mental functioning for women 65 years and older, and especially for women over 85 while Combined Hormone Therapy (estrogen and progestin) doubles the risk of dementia (including Alzheimer.) The estrogen drug raloxifene,administered to women with higher breast cancer risk, may help prevent memory decline among women older than 70 and women whose cognitive performance is declining regardless of age.Estrogen induces a broad class of neuroprotective mechanisms that confer protection against a broad spectrum of toxic insults including free radical generators , excitotoxicity , -amyloid-induced toxicity , and ischemia .The female hormones exert at the same time positive enhancement of neurogenesis in the hippocampus area expecially. Androgens such as testosterone are responsible for visual-spatial and memory development. The aging process of andropause, which is associated with declines in testosterone levels, would lead to memory loss. Different studies have highlighted the importance of testosterone in maintaining cognitive functions in particular visual spatial. However, it remains unclear whether these improvements in cognition are attributable to increased testosterone or estradiol levels(through aromatization pathway), or both. Decline of growth hormone (GH) too with aging is associated to memory and cognitive alterations.Different studies have shown that GH is neuroprotective in old animals and that its administration may ameliorate neuronal alterations associated to aging. Both hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism have been shown to disrupt a number of key steps in the memory formation and retrieval process. With aging we usually find a decline in thyroid activity An imbalance of thyroid hormones in the brain causes a definite change in how the brain processes information and in one's ability to comprehend and retain information. Even a mild imbalance can effect mental processes.Depression also effects cognitive function. And older people with undereacive thyroid are often depressed. Melatonin’s and vasopressin’s actions on age related memory loss,complete this lecture.
