Estrogen Hormone Protocol

Overview

Estrogen is a hormone that is dominant in the female reproductive system. In women, most estrogen is produced by the ovaries. Men produce estrogen by converting testosterone into estrogen. Because this hormone also has many beneficial effects on brain cells, it currently is being studied as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease. The enzyme that forms the neurotransmitter acetylcholine is promoted in the presence of estrogen. Several very small clinical studies have demonstrated improvement in cognitive function and mood measures in women with Alzheimer's disease who take estrogen.

Study Type

  • Study Type: Interventional
  • Study Design
    • Allocation: Randomized
    • Primary Purpose: Treatment
    • Masking: Double
  • Study Primary Completion Date: January 1999

Interventions

  • Drug: Estrogen

Participating in This Clinical Trial

Inclusion Criteria

  • Women with a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease who currently are not taking estrogen replacement therapy, who have had a hysterectomy, and who are in stable general health. Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with an uncontrolled health problem, such as untreated high blood pressure or thyroid disease.

Gender Eligibility: Female

Minimum Age: 60 Years

Maximum Age: N/A

Are Healthy Volunteers Accepted: No

Investigator Details

  • Lead Sponsor
    • National Institute on Aging (NIA)
  • Overall Official(s)
    • Leon Thal, MD., Principal Investigator, University of California, San Diego

Citations Reporting on Results

Mulnard RA, Cotman CW, Kawas C, van Dyck CH, Sano M, Doody R, Koss E, Pfeiffer E, Jin S, Gamst A, Grundman M, Thomas R, Thal LJ. Estrogen replacement therapy for treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer disease: a randomized controlled trial. Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study. JAMA. 2000 Feb 23;283(8):1007-15. doi: 10.1001/jama.283.8.1007. Erratum In: JAMA 2000 Nov 22-29;284(20):2597.

Clinical trials entries are delivered from the US National Institutes of Health and are not reviewed separately by this site. Please see the identifier information above for retrieving further details from the government database.

At TrialBulletin.com, we keep tabs on over 200,000 clinical trials in the US and abroad, using medical data supplied directly by the US National Institutes of Health. Please see the About and Contact page for details.