estrogen

It's still unclear why more women than men develop Alzheimer's disease. Several new studies into reproductive history and dementia in women have now revealed contradictory results suggesting pregnancy may have some kind of effect of dementia risk later in life.

A new study is rekindling a debate over the safety of essential oils. The research suggests lavender and tea tree oils contain potential hormone disrupting chemicals and could be responsible for a condition called prepubertal gynecomastia where young boys develop abnormal breast tissue.

Estrogen is important in keeping the brain healthy and allowing memories to form, but its effects lessen as women age. A team of researchers from the University of Florida is looking to improve the situation, testing a gene therapy method to return memory function in laboratory rats.

Teams from UC Riverside and New York's Rockefeller University have both used the same compound, indazole chloride, to successfully reverse the progression of MS in mice. The drug appears to be able to stimulate the regeneration of the myelin sheath, and dramatically reduce symptoms.

Scientists have found that linking two hormones into a single molecule has the potential for improving the treatment of metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes and obesity.