Understanding how menopause symptoms can complicate treatment of traumatic brain injuries

(Press-News.org) CLEVELAND, Ohio (Oct 21, 2025)—Despite growing recognition of sex differences in traumatic brain injury (TBI) outcomes, the interaction between hormone transitions–particularly menopause–and brain injury remains significantly underexplored in both research and clinical care. A new study suggests a greater focus on hormone changes when diagnosing and treating TBIs in menopausal women. Results of the study will be presented at the 2025 Annual Meeting of The Menopause Society in Orlando October 21-25.

The menopause transition has been shown to have a tremendous physiological and psychological impact on women. Only recently, however, have researchers given consideration to the impact of the complex neuroendocrine shift caused by menopause and how it can amplify or alter TBI symptoms.

Standard TBI assessment tools do not account for hormone status. In a new study, researchers suggest that this lack of consideration could potentially delay recovery or increase symptom burden in women, as well as lead to missed opportunities for accurate diagnoses, risk stratification, and individualized treatment.

To address this gap, researchers in this new study sought to evaluate existing symptom assessment tools used for both TBIs and menopause and identify overlapping, as well as divergent, individual symptoms and symptom domains. This, they theorized, would allow for the development of a more comprehensive hormone-informed questionnaire that better captures sex-specific symptom profiles in women recovering from a TBI.

The researchers ultimately identified significant symptom overlap between TBIs and menopaused-related conditions, especially in the areas of neurocognitive, somatosensory, and mood/affective symptoms. This analysis also revealed opportunities to expand current TBI assessment tools to better capture neuroendocrine responses–particularly vasomotor symptoms such as hot flashes–so that hormone driven risk can be recognized in routine TBI care.

More detailed results will be discussed at the 2025 Annual Meeting of The Menopause Society as part of the abstract presentation entitled “Toward Hormone-Informed Brain Injury Care: Unifying Assessment for Menopause and TBI in Women.”

“Emerging evidence suggests that hormonal changes can significantly influence both physiological and cognitive functioning after traumatic brain injury, even in milder injuries such as concussion. It’s essential that healthcare providers consider hormonal factors, particularly during the menopause transition, so we can better understand recovery trajectories, design targeted interventions, and communicate more inclusively with patients,” says Dr. Katherine Buzzanca-Fried, lead author from the University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions in Gainesville, Florida.

“Studies like this remind us that sex as a biological variable matters and that hormone status and reproductive stage should be studied to determine whether treatment strategies may differ for men vs women,” says Dr. Stephanie Faubion, medical director for The Menopause Society. “Traumatic brain injury treatment in midlife women may be complicated by coexisting and potentially overlapping symptoms related to menopause.”

Both Drs. Buzzanca-Fried and Faubion are available for interviews prior to the Annual Meeting.

For more information about menopause and healthy aging, visit menopause.org.

The Menopause Society is dedicated to empowering healthcare professionals and providing them with the tools and resources to improve the health of women during the menopause transition and beyond. As the leading authority on menopause since 1989, the nonprofit, multidisciplinary organization serves as the independent, evidence-based resource for healthcare professionals, researchers, the media, and the public and leads the conversation about improving women’s health and healthcare experiences. To learn more, visit menopause.org.

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