Two new studies from Iowa State University will look at blood flow patterns into the brain during menopause, which could shed light on why women may be more likely to develop conditions like dementia later in life.
ISU kinesiology professor Wesley Lefferts says research on menopause is often overlooked because sex hormones strongly vary during perimenopause.
“Duration is variable,” Lefferts says, “what hormones are changing and to what degree is variable, and so for that reason, it kind of creates this variability that can make it challenging to identify differences there, and so people stay away from it.”
The two studies will conduct annual assessments of 370 women who are in either pre, peri or early post-menopausal stages.
One study will focus on relatively healthy women, while the other will center on those who have risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
Lefferts says, “The problem is that, particularly with things like Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia, is that the changes in the brain that are causing those issues have really started potentially 20 years earlier.”
He says the study is designed to last five years.
(By Natalie Krebs, Iowa Public Radio)