Air Date: Week of April 6, 2001

Transcript

TOOMEY: A new study has shown that the kind of estrogen found in soy products might protect against Alzheimer's disease. Researchers took 45 aged female monkeys and removed their ovaries, making them good models for human menopause. The monkeys were fed one of three supplements: soy, with naturally-occurring estrogens, soy, with the estrogens removed, and Primarin, a commonly-prescribed estrogen supplement. After three years, the brains of the monkeys were examined. Researchers found that animals given the soy with estrogens had fewer protein changes associated with Alzheimer's disease. And even though Primarin is an estrogen, it didn't seem to have the same effect. The next step, researchers say, is to find out why estrogen produced by soy plants works differently than estrogen produced in the body. That's this week's health update. I'm Diane Toomey.