Washington, Sept 25: Hormone therapy in early post-menopause increases sexual interest, but has no effect on memory, a new study has revealed.

The study was led by Pauline Maki, associate professor of psychiatry and psychology at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

"Contrary to what we predicted, hormone therapy did not have a positive affect on memory performance in younger mid-life women," Maki said.

"If women want to improve hot flashes and night sweats -- the primary reason most women seek menopausal relief -- and they want to improve their sexual focus and interest, then this may be a formulation for them," she said.

The team examined 180 women in the age 45-55 age group and whose last menstrual cycle was in the past one to three years.

Randomly, the women were assigned to receive for four months either a placebo or a combination of estrogen and progesterone, also known as Prempro.

The study was done to evaluate memory, attention, cognitive function, emotional status, and sexuality and sleep in these women.

According to the researchers, women who were given hormone therapy when compared to women taking placebo reported 32 percent increase in sexual thoughts and 44 percent increase in sexual interest.

The study also found that women with vasomotor symptoms, such as hot flashes and night sweats, reported reduction in the symptoms and also an improvement in the overall quality-of-life when taking hormone therapy versus placebo.

However, no significant changes were identified in the cognitive function in the newly menopausal women who were taking hormone therapy compared to the ones who belonged to the placebo group.

Though other smaller studies had suggested that estrogen provided cognitive benefits in recently menopausal women, Maki claimed that progestin might counteract these positive effects.

The study is issued in the journal Neurology. (With Inputs from ANI)