Raloxifene Doesn't Improve Cognition

OB/GYN News, June 15, 2001 by Mary Ann Moon

The selective estrogen-receptor modulator raloxifene doesn't appear to improve cognitive function in postmenopausal women, but it may delay cognitive decline, reported Dr. Kristine Yaffe of the University of California, San Francisco, and associates.

As part of a larger study on raloxifene's effects on osteoporosis, Dr. Yaffe and her associates assessed the cognitive performance of 7,478 postmenopausal women over the course of 3 years (N. Engl. J. Med. 344[16]:1207-13, 2001).

The women were randomly assigned to receive 60 mg of raloxifene, 120 mg of raloxifene, or a placebo daily. They also underwent extensive cognitive testing that measured learning, orientation, attention, visuospatial scanning, sequential processing, motor speed, executive function, verbal production, and both immediate and delayed memory.

There were no differences among the three treatment groups in scores on any of the cognitive tests throughout the study, nor were there any differences in the frequency of amnesia, confusion, or dementia. However, women over age 70 who took either dose of raloxifene tended to have a lower risk of cognitive decline as measured on the tests of attention and verbal memory.