Women's midlife: the front line of Alzheimer prevention.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review synthesizing mechanistic and clinical concepts without original data or systematic review methodology.
PubMed 41837280 · doi:10.1172/JCI199832
What was done
This narrative review synthesized evidence regarding female sex-specific biological drivers of Alzheimer disease (AD), focusing on midlife neuroendocrine aging, the menopause transition, surgical menopause (bilateral oophorectomy), vasomotor symptoms, and the potential preventive role of menopausal hormone therapy.
What was found
The abstract reports no quantitative data or effect sizes. It notes that women comprise nearly two-thirds of AD cases and identifies neuroendocrine aging, early menopause, premenopausal bilateral oophorectomy, frequent vasomotor symptoms, and midlife cognitive/mood disturbances as underinvestigated risk factors that may represent a modifiable window for sex-specific AD prevention.
Why it matters
It emphasizes shifting AD prevention frameworks from passive longevity-related aging models to active, time-sensitive midlife endocrine interventions. This highlights the need to evaluate targeted therapies, such as hormone therapy in surgical menopause, before irreversible neurodegeneration occurs.
Limits
The abstract provides no original quantitative data, systematic search protocol, or meta-analytic pooling. The authors explicitly note a persistent shortage of dedicated clinical trials and biomarker-driven studies to confirm the efficacy and safety of hormone therapy for AD prevention.
Cited by
- supports Two-thirds of the people diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease are women.