Post Menopause Women Undergo Major Brain Changes, Suggests Study
Menopause is a phase that marks the end of a woman’s period cycle. But there are various other bodily changes that happen to a woman post-menopause. Many are likely not known to us, however, in a recent study carried out by the American Academy of Neurology, it has been found that a woman undergoes a major change in some brain particles post-menopause. The study has given us a deeper understanding of the cognitive changes that a woman goes through after she has had menopause. Also, in comparison to men of the same age, this change is more.
The study was issued under the neurology category of the American Academy Of Neurology titled “The Relation Between Sex, Menopause, and White Matter Hyperintensities”. The research was conducted with over 3,410 people. The participants’ average age was 54. 58 percent of those were women and in this 59 percent of the women already had their menopause. In addition, 35% of all participants had high blood pressure, and half of them experienced uncontrolled high blood pressure. However, there was also a limitation to the research that the researchers did not know the exact age when women had their menopause and how many of them were in the phase of having menopause (Perimenopausal).
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The research carried out a detailed study on the changes caused to white matter hyperintensities (WMH) between men and women, especially in women with menopause. The study also sheds light on how white matter hyperintensities increase as the brain ages with time and also differs among sexes. It also says that it can put a person to risk, with diseases like Alzheimer’s or brain strokes. The study also implied that the changes happen differently in men and women, menopause and the ageing process are defining factors in this case.
To come to a specific conclusion researchers did an MRI scan of the participants and minutely studied the white matter hyperintensities of every participant. The average total white matter volume, or the area of the brain with white matter hyperintensities, was 490 ml for men and 430 ml for women. The researchers sort the participants on age and their blood pressure conditions, after which it was found that WMH was present more in the brains of women who were in their menopause in comparison to the men of their same age group. Researchers also discovered that the increase in WMH accelerated with age, and in women at a quicker rate than in men.
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The study is very enlightening in terms of informing us what risk health factors add up to a woman’s body after her menopause. So, this piece of information should definitely reach every woman.
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