“My life’s work is dedicated to determining the effect of sex hormones (estrogen) and sex chromosomes (XX) on brain aging and neurodegenerative diseases.”
Recipient of an R35 NIH grant to study the effect of age and sex on the brain; only 10-15 neuroscientists selected per year in the US. Further professional information is available here.
Professor of Neurology.
Bringing cognitive assessments and treatments for menopause brain fog into the UCLA Comprehensive Menopause Program.
In my decades of research, I discovered a smart and safe treatment for menopause brain fog. Through telemedicine every woman across the country can have access to this treatment.
Translational studies in menopausal women and in the menopause mouse model both showed gene expression changes in glucose utilization within the brain cells (astrocytes) that maintain connections (synapses) between nerve cells (neurons). The menopause model showed that midlife aging and loss
of estrogen combine to cause memory impairment and atrophy of a brain region involved in memory
(hippocampus), with activation of astrocytes and loss of synapses therein. Treatment targeting
estrogen receptor β (ERβ) in these astrocytes improved cognition, prevented atrophy, and decreased neuropathology.
Link to full study here.
Dr. Voskuhl’s team discovered that a gene found on the X chromosome, called Kdm6a, makes the brain more prone to inflammation. Because women have two X chromosomes, this gene can be more active in women than in men—leading to a “double dose” of inflammation that contributes to conditions like Alzheimer’s, MS, and cognitive problems during menopause.
Link to 2 minute summary video here.
Link to full study here.
This review reveals how the interaction between sex chromosome genes and declining sex hormones
of aging contribute to differences in neurodegeneration between women and men. XX in females
drives more inflammation in brain as compared to XY in males. This is balanced by estrogen in
females being more neuroprotective than testosterone in men. However, when neuroprotective
estrogens drop with menopause, women have worse neurodegeneration as shown by “brain fog” in
healthy women and worsening of Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis, two neurodegenerative
diseases that preferentially affect women.
Link to full study here.
A landmark Phase 2b clinical trial showing that women with multiple sclerosis who were treated with estriol had significantly improved processing speed test scores after 12 months, as compared to those treated with placebo. Higher blood estriol levels correlated with better cognitive test performance, showing the critical importance of estriol dose and compliance
Link to full study here.
Brain MRI analyses showed that women with multiple sclerosis who were treated with estriol had
significantly less atrophy of a brain region involved in cognition (cerebral cortex) after 12 months, as
compared to those treated with placebo.
Link to full study here.
A biomarker of neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration (neurofilament light chain) was decreased
in women with multiple sclerosis who were treated with estriol as compared to those treated with
placebo.
Link to full study here.
The first publication showing estriol’s potential as a safe, effective treatment for women with MS. In a
Phase 2a, single arm, longitudinal pilot trial, estriol treatment reduced inflammatory brain lesions and improved cognition, laying the groundwork for larger multicenter, placebo-controlled trials testing
effects on cognition and neuroprotection.
Link to full study here.
This study showed that treatment with estriol, the estrogen used in PearlPAK, targets estrogen
receptor β (ERβ) in brain cells that make the protective sheath (oligodendrocytes) around nerve cells
(neurons). This in turn preserved nerve cells and their connections (synapses) in a brain region
involved in cognition (cerebral cortex).
Link to full study here.
Translational studies in multiple sclerosis women and its most widely used mouse model both showed
gene expression changes in cholesterol homeostasis in brain cells that make the protective sheath
(oligodendrocytes) around nerve cells (neurons). Treatment targeting estrogen receptor β (ERβ) in
these cells repaired damaged nerves and decreased walking disability in the MS model.
Link to full study here.
This seminal paper showed that treatment targeting estrogen receptor β (ERβ) in the main immune
cell of the brain (microglia) reduced neuroinflammation and in turn protected the brain and improved
clinical scores in the MS model.
Link to full study here.
Estriol treatment reduced pathology in the region of the brain critical for memory (hippocampus) and
improved functional conduction of nerve cells (neurons) within this region in the MS model.
Link to full study here.