By Dr Marios Kyriazis, gerontologist and anti-ageing physician
This article was included in issue 52 (Spring 2012) of The Menopause Exchange newsletter.
Biological ageing is a relentless process of decline that starts, according to many experts, around the age of 30 to 35 years. Therefore, by the time a woman has gone through the process of the menopause, ageing has already caused a significant amount of damage to her body. If you are approaching or going through the menopause, don?t despair, as there are many actions you can take to reduce the risks. The most visible changes of ageing involve skin and hair, but an important and potentially serious effect of ageing is on memory and general brain decline.
Skin changes
The most common and familiar changes are, of course, wrinkles and sagging skin. However, surprisingly many older women are not significantly worried about these. A substantial number of post-menopausal women say they are more bothered by the appearance of brown pigmented spots (age-spots), which appear in areas of the skin exposed to sunlight such as the back of the hands, face and throat area.
Many cosmetic treatments can be effective at taking care of wrinkles (e.g. Botox, collagen injections) and sagging skin (e.g. cosmetic surgery). But there are very few effective treatments against age-spots. Several home remedies have been used with varying degrees of success. For example, naturopathic practitioners may recommend aloe vera, lemon juice, castor oil or fresh onion dipped in vinegar. However, the most effective therapy for age-spots is laser surgery or cryotherapy (freezing the spots with liquid nitrogen).
Another age-related skin change is the increased fragility of the capillaries. This may lead to easy bruising. The best nutritional supplements for this are vitamin C and antioxidants such as vitamin E, selenium and coenzyme Q10, all of which can help to keep the capillaries healthy.
Hair and skin ageing
The production of pigment (melanin) within the hair gradually declines with age and this becomes more pronounced after the menopause. This is due to the decline of oestrogen. Normally, high levels of oestrogen like those found naturally in younger women maintain the production of melanin, so the loss of oestrogen and loss of melanin are directly related.
As women get older, their hair follicles stop producing new hair and the follicles that do become progressively less effective. As a result, the hair becomes thinner and falls out easily. An effective treatment against this is HRT, although certain natural nutrients such as resveratrol and genistein, which mimic the action of oestrogens have been found to be even better.
In a recent report published in the Experimental Dermatology journal, US researchers reported that oestradiol (a form of oestrogen that is usually deficient in post-menopausal women) as well as dietary antioxidants such as resveratrol, genistein and soy daidzein, are effective against menopause-related skin and hair aging. But looking specifically at the nutritional agents (resveratrol, genistein and daidzein), the researchers found that their mechanism of action is very specific, in that they activate a receptor on the outer membrane of skin cells, called oestrogen receptor ? (ER?). This is important because it explains why these nutritional agents are much more effective and have fewer side effects compared to ordinary oestrogen. The activation of the ER? receptor subsequently increases the production of natural antioxidants that prevent any damage to the skin, whereas ordinary oestrogens may also activate other receptors, which can lead to side effects.
Memory and brain changes
According to current statistics, after the age of 50 to 55, i.e. after the menopause, an average healthy woman has another 30 years to live, and a 15% probability that she will live to 100. However, these statistics are changing quickly, and some scientists now predict that many women past their menopause have a much better chance of living to over 100 years, with many living to the age of 120.
With such positive predictions, one has to be particularly mindful of one important consequence of ageing, namely memory problems. Basically, the longer we live, the more our brain is affected by ageing. It is not just simple forgetfulness of minor everyday things, but ageing can create havoc with our thought processes, decision-making abilities, time taken to react to something, the ability to construct meaningful sentences, and many other brain and mental skills.
Fortunately, there are quite a few steps you can take to address this. Apart from the fact that HRT has been shown to help with age-related brain problems, a variety of other nutrients, supplements and chemicals can help to reduce the impact of memory decline. Well-known examples include ginkgo biloba, lipoic acid and carnitine, but there are others such as memantine, bacopa and vinpocetine.
Memantine is a natural product (also classified as a drug) that has been licensed for use in dementia. Several research projects have shown that it protects against the formation of junk material inside the brain cell, and enables the brain to work efficiently. Bacopa is an extract of Bacopa monnieri, an Indian plant that has been proven to protect brain tissues against free radicals, toxins and other environmental poisons. Vinpocetine, an extract of the periwinkle plant, has also been shown to improve brain function, but acts along different lines compared to other nutritional supplements.
It is therefore important to consider using two, three or more nutritional supplements to reduce any age-related brain problems, because each supplement works in a particular way and enhances the actions of the others. This makes it necessary for anyone considering treatment with these so called ?brain-boosters? to work with a knowledgeable expert who would be able to suggest exact doses, combinations and frequencies to suit the specific needs of the patient.
About the author
Dr Marios Kyriazis is a gerontologist and anti-ageing physician in London.? He has an interest in any age-related health matter and has set up the British Longevity Society (www.thebls.org), aiming to disseminate information on ageing to the general public.
Created Spring 2012
Copyright ? The Menopause Exchange 2012
References:
EXPERIMENTAL DERMATOLOGY
Richard L Jackson, Jeffrey S Greiwe, Richard J Schwen. Ageing skin: oestrogen receptor ? agonists offer an approach to change the outcome.? Exp Dermatol. 2011 Aug; 12:21913999
STATISTICS
Anonymous. Life expectancy at birth and at age 65 by local areas in the United Kingdom, 2004-06 to 2008-10.? Popul Trends. 2011 Winter;146:1-22. doi: 10.1057/pt.2011.27.
MEMANTINE
Lo D, Grossberg GT.? Use of memantine for the treatment of dementia. Expert Rev Neurother. 2011 Oct;11(10):1359-70.
Tags: age-spots, ageing, hair, HRT, memory, post-menopause, sagging skin, wrinkles
Source: http://www.menopause-exchange.co.uk/blog/2012/07/23/ageing-past-the-menopause/
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