Endogenous sex hormone levels in postmenopausal women with Alzheimer's disease

A cross-sectional study examined whether there was a difference in endogeno us serum sex hormone levels between community-dwelling postmenopausal women with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and healthy controls. Total morning levels o f serum estrone, estradiol, androstenedione, testosterone, and cortisol wer e measured in 52 nondepressed women with AD and 60 postmenopausal women who were neither depressed nor cognitively impaired. Estradiol was undetectabl e in 35.7% of cases, but detectable hormone was found in 96-100% of cases o therwise. After adjustment for potential confounds, serum levels were signi ficantly higher for estrone (P = 0.0057) and androstenedione (P = 0.02), bu t not testosterone (P = 0.086) or estradiol (P = 0.59), in subjects with AD . Sex hormone levels did not correlate with cognitive scores in either grou p. Although the failure to detect estradiol in a third of cases limits the conclusions that can be drawn for this hormone, the possibility that AD is associated with abnormalities in certain serum sex hormone levels should be considered and warrants further research.