New Research Finds Differences in Menopausal Memory Problems

[herbsandhelpers]

New Research Finds Differences in Menopausal Memory Problems and Age-Related Memory Loss

Along with hot flashes and night sweats, memory problems are a common complaint of menopausal women. Now a new study finds evidence that menopause 'brain fog' may be real.

The research provides clues about changes in women's brains as they transition through the 'change,' finding key differences between the memory issues women in the study had around the time of menopause and those most often associated with aging.

'I think the take-home message is that there is something to the complaints about memory during this phase of life,' says University of Rochester Medical Center neuropsychologist Miriam T. Weber, PhD. 'The memory issues we saw were distinctly different from the kind of issues seen in older populations.'

Working Memory and Menopause

The study included 75 women who were tested on different aspects of memory and thinking.

All of the women were experiencing menopause-related changes in their menstrual cycles at the time of testing, but had had at least one period during the previous year.

Women who had memory complaints were more likely to perform poorly on tests designed to measure working memory, which Weber describes as the ability to take in new information and manipulate it.

Tasks that involve working memory might include calculating the amount of a tip to leave at a restaurant or changing one's itinerary at the last minute.

The researchers found little evidence that the women had problems storing and retrieving information, which is common in patients with age-related memory loss.

Psychiatry and psychology professor Pauline Maki, PhD, who also worked on the study, says menopausal women tend to be much better than older people at recognizing and assessing their memory deficits.

Maki is director of Women's Mental Health Research at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

'It may be that women are generally more tuned in to bodily changes because so many changes are happening all at once,' she says.

Hormones and Menopause 'Brain Fog'

The study, published this week in the journal Menopause, did not show a link between observed memory problems and estrogen levels.

Weber says this may be because estrogen levels fluctuate so dramatically during menopause that a single measure may tell very little.

'My personal bias is that memory issues around this time of life are related to estrogen, but our study wasn't able to show this,' she says.

North American Menopause Society (NAMS) executive director Margery Gass, MD, who is an ob-gyn, says although many women notice new problems with memory as they approach menopause, many others do not.

'Many women don't have these issues at all, and the good news is that for those who do have them, the memory deficits appear to be transient.'

Weber says menopausal women with memory complaints should try to avoid multitasking, especially when they are trying to learn or remember new information.

'Eliminating distractions can really help,' she says. 'Rather than working on a document and checking email when making an appointment, just focus on the appointment and write it down.'

Herbals need better regulation to overcome quality control challenges, say researchers Fri 16th March 2012
Implementing better growing and manufacturing processes along with increasing the use of modern analytical techniques and greater international regulation would 'undoubtedly' reduce the issues surrounding the quality of herbal extracts, say researchers.

Writing in Complementary Therapies in Medicine, researchers said that despite the growing popularity of herbal medicines worldwide, there are still many adverse events associated with herbal supplements ' which can be attributed to the poor quality of the raw materials or the finished products.

Led by senior author Professor Edzard Ernst of Peninsula Medical School, UK, the research group explained that increases in the usage of herbal medicines worldwide means that these safety issues have become important.

'A large proportion of the adverse events are attributable to the poor quality of the finished products, some resulting from the raw herbal materials that were contaminated,' said the researchers.

Ernst and his colleagues warned that issues such as contamination with toxic metals, pesticides residues and microbes, in addition to the rise of adulteration and misidentification mean that greater quality controls are needed for herbals.

'Although the problems are universal, they seem to be more prevalent in Asian countries, especially in China and India, which are the largest producers and users of herbal medicines,' reported Ernst and his team.

Quality is key

Ernst and his colleagues explained that there are many factors which influence the quality of herbals products ' from the cultivation of medicinal herbs to the final herbal product. These issues can be categorised into 'external' and 'internal' issues, they said.

External quality problems mainly include contamination, adulteration, and misidentification, they said ' adding that such problems can lead to a serious risk of harm to consumers and can pose a serious obstacle to the reliable trade and exporting of such products.

'Heavy metals have been found in herbal medicines with some regularity,' they warned. 'The three most commonly detected toxic metals are mercury, arsenic, and lead; others include cadmium, copper and thallium.'

The team also warned that instances of herbal medicines adulterated with orthodox drugs and plant materials 'have repeatedly been documented.'

'Several pharmaceuticals have been found in herbal medicines, and the incidence of adulteration of commercially available herbal preparation was reported to be 7% in California, 5.5% in New York and 1.23% in Singapore,' they noted.

Ernst and his team added that 'internal' quality issues can be even more challenging ' explaining that the 'bewildering variety of phytochemicals' produced by some herbs, in addition regional variations in composition caused by a host of environmental factors can lead to important issues of quality.

'A recent analysis of 25 ginseng products found a 15'200-fold variation in the concentration of the two ingredients believed to have biological activity: ginsenosides and eleutherosides,' they noted.

Solutions

Ernst and his colleagues suggested that the 'rigorous implementation' of Good Agricultural and Collection Practices (GACP) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) 'would undoubtedly reduce the risk of external issues' such as contamination and adulteration.

They added that the used of modern pharmaceutical standard analytical methods would ensure herbal products with controllable quality can be manufactured.

The team said that in order to achieve an overall improvement of quality, efforts should be made to deepen methodological research and enhance regulation of herbals.

'Government organisations should assume responsibility to provide active guidance and effective regulation,' they concluded.

Source: Complementary Therapies in Medicine
Volume 20, Issues 1'2, February'April 2012, Pages 100'106, doi: 10.1016/j.ctim.2011.09.004
"Quality of herbal medicines: Challenges and solutions"
Authors: J. Zhang, B. Wider, H. Shang, X. Li, E. Ernst