Exploring the Link Between Menopause and Alzheimer’s

Dr. Lisa Mosconi’s grandmother had two sisters and a brother. All three sisters died of Alzheimer’s. Their brother was spared. Why?

Deborah Copaken
Neurotrack

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Dr. Lisa Mosconi, PhD, Director of the Women’s Brain Initiative and Associate Director of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Clinic at Weill Cornell Medical College shows how the brain scans of pre-menopausal women differ from those of women in menopause. Photo: Deborah Copaken

It started with an artichoke. Or rather, it started with my inability to recall the word artichoke, even though I was holding one in my hand. “What did you get for dinner?” my partner Will asked from the other room, and I said, “Salmon and… ” My brain went blank. Or rather it went from blank to asparagus, even though I knew that asparagus, while in the correct spiky vegetable ballpark, was wrong.

“Yes?” said Will.

I started to panic. Words are my stock-in-trade. They’re how I make my living. If I couldn’t come up with a simple word for the vegetable right there in my own hand, who was I? I carried the mystery object into the room where Will was working. “What is this?” I said. “I can’t remember how to say it.”

He looked alarmed. “You mean… an artichoke?” He smiled. Was this some sort of a joke?

My relief was palpable. “Oh my god, yes! Thank you!” And yet I was still disturbed. What just happened? I’d been having what I thought were all the normal issues with word recall, keys and glasses locating, and wait-why-did-I-just-go-into-this-room…

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Deborah Copaken
Neurotrack

Writes (SHUTTERBABE, THE RED BOOK, EMILY IN PARIS, ATLANTIC, etc.) Shoots (photos.) Upcoming: LADYPARTS (Random House, 2021) https://www.deborahcopaken.com/