White matter hyperintensities, hot flushes and estrogen - are they related?

• Published in: Climacteric : the journal of the International Menopause Society Vol. 18; no. 6; pp. 775 - 776
• Main Author: Pines, A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Informa Healthcare 02-11-2015; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Age Factors; Aged; Brain; Cardiovascular Diseases - complications; Correlation analysis; Estrogen Replacement Therapy - adverse effects; Female; HORMONE THERAPY; Hormones; Hot Flashes - physiopathology; HOT FLUSHES; Humans; Ischemia; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; MENOPAUSE; Middle Aged; Neurological disorders; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; White Matter - pathology; WHITE MATTER HYPERINTENSITIES; HOT FLUSHES; HORMONE THERAPY; WHITE MATTER HYPERINTENSITIES; MENOPAUSE
• ISSN: 1369-7137; 1473-0804
• DOI: 10.3109/13697137.2015.1070253

White matter hyperintensities (WMH) are areas of high intensity observed in brain MRI scans. They are usually seen in normal aging but also in a number of neurological and psychiatric disorders. One of the underlying mechanisms is ischemia, expressed as small vessel disease. Since the volume of WMH may correlate with cognition, and an ongoing debate links postmenopausal hormone therapy with stroke and a decline in certain cognitive domains, several MRI studies have addressed this potential association. Two major randomized, placebo-controlled trials - WHIMS and KEEPS, the first including elderly women and the second recruiting recently menopausal women, did not demonstrate any safety concerns in this respect in hormone users.