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. 2011 Jun;76(1):158-65.
doi: 10.1016/j.bandc.2011.01.011. Epub 2011 Feb 26.

Endogenous estradiol is associated with verbal memory in nondemented older men

Molly E Zimmerman  1 , Richard B Lipton, Nanette Santoro, Daniel S McConnell, Carol A Derby, Mindy J Katz, Khosrow Baigi, Rachel Saunders-Pullman
Affiliations

Endogenous estradiol is associated with verbal memory in nondemented older men

Molly E Zimmerman et al. Brain Cogn. 2011 Jun.

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between endogenous hormones and cognitive function in nondemented, ethnically-diverse community-dwelling older men enrolled in the Einstein Aging Study (EAS). All eligible participants (185 men, mean age=81 years) received neuropsychological assessment (Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test (FCSRT), Logical Memory (LM), Trail Making Test B (TMTB), block design (BD)) and provided blood samples for hormonal assays (total estradiol, total testosterone, calculated free testosterone index). Linear regression analysis adjusted for age, education, body mass index, and cardiovascular comorbidities indicated that men with high levels of total estradiol demonstrated better FCSRT verbal memory performance (β=0.17, p<0.02) compared to men with lower levels of total estradiol. The results remained unchanged when the model was further adjusted for ethnicity. We did not detect an association between testosterone and cognitive performance. These findings indicate that high levels of total estradiol in older men are associated with better performance on a cue-based, controlled learning test of verbal memory that is a sensitive predictor of dementia.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Bar Graph Showing FCSRT Means (Adjusted for Age, Education, BMI, and Cardiovascular Comordidities) and Standard Errors by Total Estradiol Group in Older Men.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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