Testosterone boosts memory in older women

BOSTON, June 8 (UPI) -- A preliminary study suggests post-menopausal women had better memory after six months of treatment with testosterone spray, Australian researchers say.

Lead investigator Dr. Sonia Davison, a postdoctoral research fellow at Monash University in Melbourne, compared a control group of 30 women who received no treatment with a group of nine healthy women in early menopause ages 47-60, who received the testosterone spray on their skin equivalent to levels in the blood typical of young women of childbearing age, when their memories were better.

All of the treated women were receiving a stable dose of non-oral hormone replacement therapy, Davison says.

The women were tested for cognitive function with a battery of computerized tests that can detect even small changes in cognitive performance, Davison says.

At the beginning of the study, both groups of women did not differ significantly in their cognitive test results. After 26 weeks, the control group showed no significant differences between their initial and final test results, but the testosterone-treated group improved their verbal learning and memory, the study found.

"Women have a higher risk of developing dementia compared to men," Davison says in a statement. "These results offer a potential therapy, where none currently exists, to slow cognitive decline in women."

The findings were presented at The Endocrine Society's 93rd annual meeting in Boston.