- Coughlan, Gillian;
- Rubinstein, Zoe;
- Klinger, Hannah;
- Lopez, Kelly;
- Hsieh, Stephaine;
- Boyle, Rory;
- Seto, Mabel;
- Townsend, Diana;
- Mayblyum, Danielle;
- Thibault, Emma;
- Jacobs, Heidi;
- Farrell, Michelle;
- Rabin, Jennifer;
- Papp, Kate;
- Amariglio, Rebecca;
- Baker, Suzanne;
- Lois, Cristina;
- Rentz, Dorene;
- Price, Julie;
- Schultz, Aaron;
- Properzi, Michael;
- Johnson, Keith;
- Sperling, Reisa;
- Buckley, Rachel
Elucidating the downstream impact of exogenous hormones on the aging brain will have far-reaching consequences for understanding why Alzheimers disease (AD) predominates in women almost twofold over men. We tested the extent to which menopausal hormone therapy (HT) use is associated with later-life amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau accumulation using PET on N = 146 baseline clinically normal women, aged 51 to 89 years. Women were scanned over a 4.5-year (SD, 2.1; range, 1.3 to 10.4) and 3.5-year (SD, 1.5; range, 1.2 to 8.1) period for Aβ and tau, respectively, ~14 years after the initiation of HT. In older women (aged >70 years), HT users exhibited faster regional tau accumulation relative to non-users, localized to the entorhinal cortex and the inferior temporal and fusiform gyri, with an indirect effect of HT on cognitive decline through regional tau accumulation. In younger women (aged <70 years), HT associations with tau accumulation were negligible. Findings are relevant for optimizing menopausal treatment guidelines.