[Dementia of the Alzheimer type in women]

Within the different kinds of dementia, Alzheimer's Disease (AD) obviously is the only one showing relevant gender differences, concerning epidemiology, risk factors and cognitive deficits. Women more often suffer from AD, achieve lower Mini Mental Status Test scores when demented and show lower verbal skills. The possibility of using estrogen as a therapeutic agent, either only or as an augmentation to acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, could become more important for clinical practice, as it is said to cause distinct improvements of cognitive skills. Epidemiological studies were able to show that estrogen replacement therapy in menopausal women lowers risk of AD.