Menopause causes metabolic and cognitive impairments in a chronic cerebral hypoperfusion model of vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia.

Overall, we have found that the accelerated ovarian failure model of menopause caused metabolic impairment and cognitive deficits in a mouse model of VCID. Further studies are needed to identify the underlying mechanism. Importantly, the post-menopausal brain still expressed estrogen receptors at normal (pre-menopausal) levels. This is encouraging for any future studies attempting to reverse the effects of estrogen loss by activating brain estrogen receptors.