Announcing our new video presentations on Menopause and the Brain

Hello everyone!  I’m excited to announce that my colleague, Nathalie Bonafé, and I have completed and uploaded a four-part series on menopause, estrogen, and the brain.  I invite you to take a look at the videos and I guarantee you will find them interesting and, hopefully, entertaining!

You can locate these recordings on YouTube and they are free!  Nathalie and I both have made it our mission to educate women about menopause. And in particular, I want women to better understand the benefits and risks of hormone replacement therapy (HRT).  Statistics continue to reveal that despite the fact that more than 80% of women suffer hot flashes, night sweats, and other menopausal symptoms, less than half receive hormone replacement therapy.  This is despite the fact that the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) and other major women’s health organization advise that estrogen is the most effective treatment for hot flashes.

So why are so few women taking HRT?  There are lots of reasons, but a major factor is that there is a belief that the risks of taking estrogen outweigh the benefits.  Although long-term estrogen use may be associated with a slight increased risk of breast cancer, there are many benefits of estrogen that women should consider – ones that far overshadow the risk of breast cancer for most women.

One thing that many women may not be aware of is that estrogen exerts many beneficial effects in the brain.  This is well documented in the scientific literature.  So it goes to follow that when women go through menopause – a time when estrogen levels plummet, there are bound to be some consequences. And in fact most women going through perimenopause and menopause experience a number of symptoms stemming from changes in the brain.

The purpose of our webinars is to help women better understand what is going on in their bodies and brains during the menopause transition.  This knowledge will make women aware of the importance of being proactive in taking charge of their brain health at this time.  There are many things that women can do. Whether or not HRT is the magic bullet for the brain remains controversial, but my hope is that after watching our webinars you will realize there is good reason to believe that it should be beneficial.

Here is a snapshot of each session:

Part One describes the role of estrogen in the day-to-day functioning of the brain.  Once you understand what estrogen does in the brain, you realize how the loss of estrogen may lead to some problems.

Part Two focuses on why we get the typical perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms.  Spoiler alert, the decrease in estrogen activity in the brain is pivotal in creating hot flashes, mood swings, and brain fog.

Part Three addresses the role of estrogen in our cognition. We introduce the cutting-edge hypothesis that menopause is actually a risk factor for future dementia.  Research is suggesting that the loss of estrogen jumpstarts processes that promote brain aging, and this may explain why more women than men develop Alzheimer’s disease.  We discuss the burning questions – does the loss of estrogen promote dementia and Alzheimer’s? If so, can HRT be preventative?  This is an important issue.  Once we present the current scientific knowledge my hope is that you will walk away with an informed opinion.

And finally, in Part Four we review how women in perimenopause and menopause can be proactive in keeping their brains healthy.  A number of lifestyle measures are presented that can not only help decrease menopausal symptoms but have been shown to help improve brain functioning, minimize the impact of aging, and promote longevity.

Both Nathalie and I welcome any feedback from those who tune in and we encourage listeners to send us questions or comments via our respective websites.  We hope you will find our presentations helpful and we look forward to doing more webinars in the future.