(Courtesy of Memory Center of Englewood) Half of the population of the world is made up of women. Two facts that many are unaware of is that (1) almost two-thirds of Americans living with Alzheimer’s are women, and (2) when a woman reaches the age of 60, she is two times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease over the course of her life than breast cancer.
Some background explanation: Women live longer than men, and if a woman lives long enough, she will go through menopause at some point in the middle of her life. During this time, a woman can experience anxiety, depression, insomnia, brain fog and mood swings. All of these symptoms are symptoms of the brain. Frequently, these problems lead women to go to their primary care physicians or gynecologists to address their concerns. However, these doctors are not experts in the brain; rather, the former are generalists while the latter are experts in a specific field (in this case, the reproductive system). Similarly, neurologists (doctors who specialize in the brain and nervous system) are not trained in treating menopause, and so the vast majority of menopausal women don’t get any real help.
For centuries, menopausal symptoms were disregarded as fabricated or “hysterical,” and healthcare professionals downplayed the importance of addressing the changes in women’s brains that can lead to the development of neurocognitive diseases and strokes. To the present day, the specifics surrounding women’s brains are under-researched, underdiagnosed and widely untreated areas of medicine.
We understand that women’s and men’s brains are different. In cognitive testing, women outperform men in memory, attention and fluency. The difference in hormonal and chemical makeup does not necessarily influence intelligence or executive function, but statistics show that women are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease, twice as likely to have anxiety and depression, four times more likely to suffer from headaches and migraines and more likely to have a stroke.
Neurocognitive diseases slowly progress over many years. Nobody wakes up one morning with Alzheimer’s disease. The early symptoms start when we are 30, 40 and 50 years old. The four progressive stages of cognitive diseases are: (1) asymptomatic (no discernible symptoms), (2) subjective cognitive impairment (when we feel problems concentrating or remembering, but formal testing is negative), (3) mild cognitive impairment (memory loss is confirmed by cognitive testing), and the last stage–dementia. However, before we start thinking about the worst possible circumstance, we have to consider if the symptoms a woman experiences are possibly just a product of post-menopausal changes, or the warning sign of something else going on.
Brain fog may feel like a problem with short-term memory—things like forgetting names, dates, difficulty concentrating, difficulty multitasking, losing train of thought, feeling tired or lacking energy. It can be quite uncomfortable, but in many cases it doesn’t mean that it’s the beginning of dementia. Brain fog is considered to be a subjective cognitive impairment. It can be a red flag, but can be reversed with a change in lifestyle and, potentially, with hormonal remedies.
How can we find out what’s going on? Is it normal aging or the beginning of a disease process?
At the Memory Center, we see women in premenopausal and postmenopausal states, and we have developed a strategy of working meticulously in the window of opportunity when it’s possible to make changes during the earliest stages of cognitive impairment if it is present. It is possible to see changes in the brain 10-15 years before any clinical manifestations of brain disease and to take actions to prevent the development of dementia.
Our team of physicians provides women with a thorough examination from a neurological point of view, and addresses general health issues like hormonal changes, sleep issues, chronic inflammation/infection and other comorbidities that can aggravate both general and brain health.
A comprehensive battery of cognitive testing will help to determine the stage of the condition, and utilization of the latest developments in genetic testing and neuroimaging such as volumetric MRI assist in diagnosis.
Our therapeutic strategy incorporates not only traditional methods of treating chronic assaults like insomnia, stress-related changes and insulin resistance, but also includes integrative medicine, which addresses changes in eating, sleeping and lifestyle in general.
Our health and brain coaches will personalize your treatment to improve physical and mental health. We have non-pharmacological treatments available such as transcranial magnetic stimulation and photobiomodulation therapy or red light therapy to help support brain health and performance.
Call the Memory Center of Englewood at 201-947-4777 to make an appointment, or go through our website at MemoryCenter.org. We accept Medicare, Medicare plans and most commercial insurances.
