POSTMENOPAUSAL ESTROGEN INFLUENCES ON OLFACTION

描述（改编自申请人的摘要）： 晚年生活是常见的，嗅觉能力下降似乎是第一个迹象 老年痴呆症（AD） 最近的研究表明，雌激素替代疗法 雌激素替代疗法（ERT）可减轻或延缓绝经后衰退的发展 在认知功能的健康老年妇女，以及老年妇女与AD。 问题是，ERT是否也能预防绝经后妇女 嗅觉丧失 两条间接证据表明，这可能是 案子 首先，绝经后的妇女到宾夕法尼亚大学 抱怨化学感觉功能障碍的患者较少 可能在症状发作前服用倍美力或其他雌激素， 对大众的期望是什么 二、卵巢切除 接受雌二醇的大鼠嗅觉损失较少，恢复更快， 是因为全身注射了3-甲基吲哚一种嗅觉系统神经毒素 拟议的研究将确定ERT是否减轻了观察到的嗅觉丧失 在绝经后妇女中。 采用一种已被证明是强大的范例， 其它上下文（例如，巴尔的摩老龄化纵向研究）， 研究者将确定ERT与 对600名女性的嗅觉和认知功能进行了有效的测量 她们的雌激素服用史都很明确 如果雌激素的使用 与嗅觉功能有系统的联系，因为他们相信 如果是这样，这项研究将是重要的，原因有几个。 首先， 导致改善生活质量的许多老年妇女，因为嗅觉 在饮食中起着关键作用。 第二，这将导致 减少与嗅觉丧失有关的风险，如营养不良， 意外气体中毒 第三，它会导致可检验的假设 关于生殖激素的作用及其潜在机制， 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.