What were the main findings from the WHIMS-MRI?
Very little difference was seen in the volume of brain ischemic lesions between women who had taken hormone therapies versus those who had not. Contrary to our original expectations, the hormone therapies did not appear to increase the volume of ischemic lesions in the brain in most women. Women who had been assigned to take the hormone therapies had slightly smaller brains than those who had been assigned to take placebo. For most women, the amount of brain loss was small and would not be expected to noticeably affect her memory or thinking. Loss of brain tissue is a part of normal aging and does not necessarily signal Alzheimers disease. The WHIMS-MRI also found that the volumes of specific regions of the brain that were critical to memory were also smaller among women who were assigned to take hormone therapy. Women who had lower levels of cognitive function when they enrolled in the Womens Health Initiative appeared to lose relatively the most brain tissue when assigned to take its
