Estrogen Makes People Smarter

Estrogen hormone therapy is usually conducted in menopausal women. But now scientists have found that estrogen hormone can sharpen the brain's performance, it makes people more intelligent and can also treat Alzheimer's.
Scientists found that the hormone estrogen can increase the number of connections between brain cells and also improve communication within the brain. These female hormones can also improve memory and increase the accuracy of tests.

But unfortunately, some studies have found that use of estrogen in menopausal women may increase the risk of breast cancer, stroke and heart attack.

To that end, scientists have been looking for ways to activate the estrogen receptor without the use of estrogen itself. This will allow patients to get the benefits of estrogen without the adverse side effects.

"Mimicking the effects of estrogen on the brain to create a treatment for disease Alzheimer's and schizophrenia, "said Deepak Srivastava, a researcher at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, as reported LivescieneFriday (19/11/2010).

According to Srivastava, estrogen-like compounds can activate estrogen receptors and trigger a chain of chemical reactions in cells. This in turn can cause an increase in the number of dendritic cells, thus sharpening the performance of the brain and can make people become more intelligent.

"In addition to making people more intelligent, increasing the number of dendritic cells are also useful for patients with Alzheimer's and schizophrenia. This is because people with this condition lack a number of dendritic cells in the brain," said Srivastava.

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association and the National Alliance for Research into Schizophrenia and Depression.

The results have been published on the meeting of the Society for Neuroscience meeting in San Diego Wednesday.