POSTMENOPAUSAL ESTROGEN INFLUENCES ON OLFACTION

描述(改编自申请人的摘要)：嗅觉功能丧失 晚年生活很常见，嗅觉能力下降似乎是第一个迹象 阿尔茨海默病(AD)。最近的研究表明，雌激素替代疗法 治疗(ERT)可以减轻或延缓绝经后月经下降的发展 健康的老年妇女以及患有阿尔茨海默病的老年妇女的认知功能。 问题是，ERT是否也能预防绝经后 嗅觉丧失。两条间接证据表明，这可能是 凯斯。首先，绝经后女性向宾夕法尼亚大学发表演讲 嗅觉和味觉中心有化学感觉功能障碍的投诉较少 可能在症状出现前服用倍美力或其他雌激素 对广大民众的期望是什么。第二，卵巢切除 接受雌二醇组的大鼠嗅觉丧失较少，恢复较快， 全身注射3-甲基吲哚，一种嗅觉系统神经毒素。 拟议的研究将确定ERT是否能减轻观察到的嗅觉损失 在绝经后妇女中。采用一种已被证明强大的 其他背景(例如，巴尔的摩老龄化纵向研究)， 调查人员将确定ERT和ERT之间是否存在关联 600名女性嗅觉和认知功能的有效测量 他们的雌激素摄取史都有明确的定义。如果雌激素的使用是 以系统的方式与嗅觉功能联系在一起，正如他们相信的那样 在这种情况下，这项研究将是重要的，有几个原因。首先，它会 导致提高许多老年妇女的生活质量，因为嗅觉 在饮食中起着关键作用。其次，这将导致 减少与嗅觉丧失相关的风险，如营养不良和 意外的气体中毒。第三，这将导致可检验的假说 关于生殖激素的作用及其基本机制， 维持正常的嗅觉功能。

DESCRIPTION (adapted from applicant's abstract): Loss of olfactory function in later life is common, and decreased smell ability appears to be the first sign of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Recent studies suggest that estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) may lessen or retard the development of postmenopausal declines in cognitive function in healthy older women, as well as older women with AD. The question arises as to whether ERT also protects against postmenopausal olfactory loss. Two lines of circumstantial evidence suggest this may be the case. First, postmenopausal women presenting to the University of Pennsylvania Smell & Taste Center with complaints of chemosensory dysfunction are less likely to be taking Premarin or other estrogens prior to symptom onset than what would be expected from the population at large. Second, ovariectomized rats receiving estradiol have less olfactory loss, and recover more rapidly, from systemic administration of 3-methylindole, an olfactory system neurotoxin. The proposed study will establish whether ERT mitigates olfactory loss observed in postmenopausal women. Employing a paradigm that has been proved powerful in other contexts (e.g., the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging), the investigators will determine whether associations exist between ERT and well-validated measures of both olfactory and cognitive function in 600 women whose estrogen-taking histories are well-defined. If estrogen use is associated in a systematic manner with olfactory function, as they believe will be the case, this study will be important for several reasons. First, it would lead to improving the quality of life for many aging women, since olfaction plays a key role in eating and drinking. Second, it would lead to the reduction of risks associated with olfactory loss such as malnutrition and accidental gas poisonings. Third, it would lead to testable hypotheses regarding the role of reproductive hormones, and their underlying mechanisms, in the maintenance of normal olfactory function.