Verbal Episodic Memory and Endogenous Estradiol: An Association in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease

• Main Authors: D. M. Bittner, V. Bittner, M. W. Riepe
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hindawi Limited 2011-01-01
• Series: Current Gerontology and Geriatrics Research
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2011/673012

In the continuum of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and normal controls, a possible association of verbal memory and endogenous estradiol (E2) levels was investigated. Verbal episodic memory was measured with a german version of the California verbal memory test (CVLT). Results were controlled for apolipoprotein E (ApoE) phenotype. We studied 37 controls, 32 MCIs and 117 ADs. Groups differed in all trials of the CVLT (𝑃<0.001) and in E2 levels (𝑃<0.001). E2 levels differed significantly between groups only among females (𝑃<0.001). In females correcting for age and ApoE, there was an overall correlation between CVLT delayed recall and level of E2  (𝑃=0.025). Stepwise regression analyses found E2 level to be a significant predictor for CVLT delayed recall (𝑃<0.001). It may be concluded that lower E2 levels occur more in the course of the disease than may be considered as a risk factor per se.