Why does Herstasis love this paper?

Because you are not going crazy and you are not dying! Huzzah.

This paper explains how changes in your personal estrogen levels due to perimenopause have a significant impact on your personal brain chemistry. So your symptoms may officially originate in your head, but it’s not all in your mind. 

  •  The neurological changes that cause many symptoms are a result of variable estrogen levels happening during the menopausal transition.  
  • It makes the case that estrogen replacement therapy (Hormone Therapy or HT) could have large beneficial impacts to women during perimenopause, but the data on impacts of hormone therapy is insufficient so many women don’t have confidence in it as a therapy.
  •  Details how hot flushes, insomnia, cognition, and depression are triggered by estrogen receptors in the brain. 

Abstract

Perimenopause, or the menopausal transition, is the midlife transition state experienced by women that causes the slowdown and ultimate end of womens’ reproductive system’s functions. When perimenopause begins, most women also have fully functioning neurological systems, meaning that their nervous system is balanced and working properly. 

The symptoms associated with perimenopause are largely neurological, despite the fact that perimenopause is usually discussed in the context of the reproductive system. These symptoms (including hot flashes, sleep disturbances, energy balance, disruptions to memory, mood changes, and others) indicate that multiple estrogen-regulated systems are being disrupted in the brain.

Estrogen, a hormone, is known as a master regulator. It affects many body systems through a network of estrogen receptors, all of which work together to direct the brain to respond appropriately in rapid, intermediate and long timescales to maintain the body’s metabolism. Metabolism is defined as all the chemical reactions that take place in your body to convert the food you eat into the energy you need to function properly. 

During the menopause transition, the network of estrogen receptors becomes disconnected from the systems that work together to maintain metabolic balance. This can trigger dysfunction in these systems, and may in fact, increase the risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases later in life. This means that the menopausal transition has the potential to be a time where later neurological diseases could be prevented.  

Keywords

  • Transition states
  • Perimenopause
  • Neurological Symptoms
  • Estrogen and the estrogen receptor
  • Estrogen and neural bioenergentics
  • Hypometabolism and neurological systems
  • Hot flushes
  • Insomnia
  • Cognition
  • Depression
  • Interventions

Citation

Brinton, R., Yao, J., Yin, F. et al. Perimenopause as a neurological transition state. Nat Rev Endocrinol 11, 393–405 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2015.82

Summary

  1. How estrogen impacts neurological functioning.
  2. The symptoms that can arise because of estrogen’s impact on receptors in the brain. 
  3. How estrogen receptors work in the brain and which ones are responsible for which types of symptoms. 
  4. What is happening in your brain that is causing some common symptoms including hot flashes, insomnia, and cognitive function.

  1. Describes the importance of  the network of estrogen receptors that control metabolism in the brain relative to neurological symptoms in perimenopause.
  2. Describes the estrogen receptors in the brain and how they impact perimenopausal symptoms.  
  3. Explains the biochemistry behind hot flashes, insomnia, and cognitive functions such as memory. 

  • The lead author, Roberta Brinton, PhD, is the director of the UA Center for Innovation in Brain Science at the University of Arizona Health Sciences.  
  • Dr. Brinton is a leading neuroscientist in the field of Alzheimer’s, the aging female brain and regenerative therapeutics.
  • The research is supported by multiple grants from reputable sources (National Institutes of Health (NIH)
  • It has been cited in almost 100 research articles.
  • It is published in the Nature Reviews series, which are highly credible and part of the Nature family of journals. ‘Nature’ was first published in 1869 and continues to be the leading international weekly journal of science. 

Related Symptoms & Therapies

Hot Flashes & Night Sweats

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Sleeping Difficulties

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Cognitive Changes

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Emotional Changes

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Hormone Therapy

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About The Author

The lead author, Roberta Brinton, PhD, is the director of the UA Center for Innovation in Brain Science at the University of Arizona Health Sciences.  Dr. Brinton is a leading neuroscientist in the field of Alzheimer’s, the aging female brain and regenerative therapeutics.

About The Source

It is published in the Nature Reviews series, which are highly credible and part of the Nature family of journals. ‘Nature’ was first published in 1869 and continues to be the leading international weekly journal of science.