We review 42 studies examining the effects of estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) on memory and cognition in nondemented postmenopausal women. Although there are an appreciable number of nonsignificant findings, the number of significant findings favoring ERT users considerably outnumbers the rare findings of better performance in controls. Experimental studies demonstrate a consistent beneficial effect on verbal memory, but these are short-term studies of the more acute effects of ERT. The observational studies suggest that there may be a long-lasting effect of continued ERT on cognitive functioning, but these studies need to be interpreted with caution because of the lack of random assignment and a possible "healthy user bias." We also summarize findings from studies on the effects of ERT on Alzheimer's disease (AD). ERT is associated with a decreased risk for dementia, but there is little evidence for a positive effect on cognition in women with AD. Definitive answers to questions about the long-term effects of ERT on cognitive aging and risk of developing AD should be provided by 3 ongoing clinical trials.

中文翻译：

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雌激素替代疗法对患有和不患有痴呆的绝经后妇女神经心理功能的影响：一项重要的理论综述。

我们回顾了42项研究，研究了雌激素替代疗法（ERT）对绝经后无痴呆妇女记忆和认知的影响。尽管有相当数量的非重要发现，但有利于ERT用户的重要发现数量大大超过了在对照中表现更好的罕见发现。实验研究证明了对言语记忆的一致有益作用，但是这些是ERT的更急性作用的短期研究。观察性研究表明，持续进行ERT对认知功能可能会产生长期的影响，但是由于缺乏随机分配和可能的“健康的用户偏见”，因此应对这些研究进行谨慎的解释。我们还总结了ERT对阿尔茨海默氏病（AD）影响的研究结果。ERT与痴呆症的风险降低相关，但很少有证据表明对AD患者的认知有积极作用。正在进行的3个临床试验应提供有关ERT对认知衰老和AD发生风险的长期影响的明确答案。