How does menopause impact the brain? MRI scans hold clues
Can menopause change a woman’s brain? According to a new study published in Neurology—yes.
Specifically, menopause visibly increases white matter hyperintensities on MRI exams. While these small lesions are known to increase with age, researchers recently found that women who have gone through menopause display a greater amount in comparison to their peers who are the same age.
“Our study examined what role menopause may have on amounts of these brain biomarkers,” said study author Monique M. B. Breteler, MD, PhD, of the German Center of Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), in Bonn, Germany, and co-authors. “Our results imply that white matter hyperintensities evolve differently for men and women, where menopause or factors that determine when menopause starts, such as variations in the aging process, are defining factors.”
The experts shared that although the presence of white matter hyperintensities does not necessarily guarantee that a person will suffer a stroke or other neurological condition, such as Alzheimer’s, research has revealed potential associations between the biomarkers. Hence, there is a need to gain a more thorough understanding of how menopause might affect the vascular health of the brain, they explained.
For the study, experts analyzed the MRI brain scans of 3,410 individuals with an average age of 54. Of those participants 58% were women, 59% of whom were postmenopausal. Individuals with high blood pressure—a factor known to increase white matter hyperintensities—accounted for 35% of the cohort.
Although the men of the group displayed greater white matter volumes (490 ml vs 430 ml) in comparison to their female peers, the experts found that the white matter hyperintensity volumes of postmenopausal women still outweighed that of the men at 0.94 ml compared to 0.72. This finding remained consistent when comparing premenopausal women to postmenopausal women of similar age, but was revealed to be more prevalent in women than men and with advanced age.
Independent of menopausal status, women with uncontrolled high blood pressure also exhibited increased hyperintensities compared to men.
“The results of our study not only show more research is needed to investigate how menopause may be related to the vascular health of the brain. They also demonstrate the necessity to account for different health trajectories for men and women, and menopausal status,” Breteler said.
The authors suggested that their results further underscore the need for sex-specific medicine, especially for older women and in those with known vascular risk factors.
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In addition to her background in journalism, Hannah also has patient-facing experience in clinical settings, having spent more than 12 years working as a registered rad tech. She joined Innovate Healthcare in 2021 and has since put her unique expertise to use in her editorial role with Health Imaging.