- Menopause is the time in a cisgender woman’s life that marks the end of her reproductive years.
- Common menopause symptoms include got flashes, mood chnages, as well as cognitive issues like brain fog.
- Currently, menopause-related brain fog is treated through a combination of lifestyle changes, psychological therapies, and hormone therapy.
- A new study found that two ADHD medications may also help alleviate menopause brain fog.
Menopause is the time in a cisgender woman’s life that marks the end of her reproductive years.
While menopause symptoms vary from person to person, common signs include hot flashes, weight gain, mood swings, and cognitive issues like brain fog.
“About two-thirds of women experience brain fog or cognitive decline during the menopause transition,” Jennifer Tat, lead author, MD candidate and fourth-year medical student at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, told Medical News Today. “Although usually temporary, it creates a serious burden on women and affects their daily lives.”
Currently, menopause-related brain fog is treated through a combination of lifestyle changes such as improving sleep and exercising regularly, psychological therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and menopause hormone therapy.
Tat recently presented the study at The Menopause Society’s 2026 Annual Meeting, which found that medications used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may also help alleviate menopausal brain fog.
Why try ADHD medications?
For this study, researchers analyzed medical data from past studies examining the impact of the ADHD medications lisdexamphetamine (LDX) and atomoxetine (ATX) on cognition and ADHD symptom severity.
From these studies, scientists focused on cisgender women between the ages of 45 and 60 years of age with a last menstrual cycle less than 10 years ago.
Tat said that this study is based on previous research she had conducted regarding the effect of estrogen on ADHD medications, and her colleague’s experience with brain fog being a common complaint among menopausal women.
“Together, these observations led us to ask two questions: whether ADHD medications can help with menopausal brain fog, and whether women with more ADHD symptoms have a harder time with menopause,” Tat said.
Both ADHD meds improve self-reported executive function
At the study’s conclusion, researchers found that both LDX and ATX helped to significantly improve study participants’ self-reported executive function, which includes working memory and flexible thinking.
“Brain fog is something women experience day to day: losing their train of thought, struggling to stay organized, (and) feeling less sharp at work,” Tat explained. “Lisdexamfetamine (a stimulant) and atomoxetine (a non-stimulant) both improved self-reported executive function compared with placebo, especially working memory, and that shows these symptoms can respond to treatment.”
“Both ultimately raise dopamine and norepinephrine signaling in the prefrontal cortex, which supports the idea that falling estrogen contributes to brain fog by lowering those same neurotransmitters,” she added.
ADHD drugs have no significant effect on objective cognitive tests
Scientists also discovered that despite improvements in study participants’ subjective “brain fog,” the ADHD had little to no significant effect on objective cognitive tests of processes like working memory and prolonged attention.
“We can’t yet say these medications measurably improve cognition,” Tat said. “Standard lab tests may miss the real-world difficulties women describe, so self-report scales capture an important part of their experience, although they measure perceived function rather than objective cognitive change.”
“These trials may also have been too small to detect modest changes. Larger trials and better ways to measure brain fog are needed,” she said.
“We plan to publish this review so clinicians can screen midlife women for ADHD symptoms and consider these medications when hormone therapy isn’t an option. We also hope it prompts larger, independent trials that include women with ADHD, test methylphenidate, and compare ADHD medications with hormone therapy.”
—Jennifer Tat, lead author
FDA-approved treatments for menopause cognitive changes needed
MNT spoke with Kanchi Chadha, MD, FACOG, OB/GYN and director of the Midlife Women’s Health and Longevity Center at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey, who said her first reaction to the study’s findings was cautious optimism.
“Nearly 60% of my perimenopausal patients bring up distressing cognitive changes like forgetfulness and trouble concentrating,” Chadha, who was not involved in this study, explained. “It is incredibly validating to see clinical research directly targeting brain fog, especially since we currently lack FDA-approved medications for it.”
“Recognizing that these symptoms so closely mirror ADHD is a smart angle that could eventually offer a real lifeline to women struggling to stay on top of their daily lives,” she added.
Even though menopausal brain fog is usually temporary and does not lead to dementia, Chadha said it hits women right at the peak of their careers and personal responsibilities.
Menopausal ‘brain fog’
“It causes immense stress, anxiety, and can significantly disrupt a woman’s livelihood and confidence. Current options are incredibly limited as menopause hormone therapy (MHT) is not recommended for cognition and not every woman is a candidate for MHT. Finding safe, non-hormonal treatments is crucial so we aren’t just telling women to ‘tough it out.'”
—Kanchi Chadha, MD, FACOG
How could ADHD meds help with menopause brain fog?
When asked how ADHD medications could potentially help improve menopausal-related brain fog, Chadha said it all comes down to brain chemistry.
“The sharp drop and fluctuation in estrogen during the menopause transition disrupts the catecholaminergic pathways — specifically dopamine and norepinephrine — in the prefrontal cortex, which is the area of the brain that controls focus, organization, and working memory,” she detailed. “ADHD medications like LDX and ATX are designed to modulate those exact pathways.”
“By boosting these neurotransmitters, the medications may help counteract the neurobiological shifts caused by estrogen loss, easing the subjective feeling of executive dysfunction,” Chadha explained.
For the next steps in this research, Chadha said we need larger, multicenter randomized controlled trials to establish long-term safety and efficacy specifically in midlife women.
“It’s also important to explore the discrepancy this review highlighted: why these drugs improved a woman’s subjective feelings of brain fog but didn’t actually move the needle on objective cognitive tests,” she added.
