A study being conducted by Monash University in Australia is hoping to find a link between low testosterone levels and early onset of dementia in women over 45.

This alternative treatment for dementia involves a testosterone spray applied twice a day. Doctors hope the testosterone to then be absorbed by the brain. Testosterone treatment has been used in the pass to treat memory loss and low sex drive although the results have been inconclusive.

Testosterone, often thought of as a male sex hormone, is present in females. It accounts in large part for the growth of female public hair and the strength of bones and muscles. However women produce only 5 percent of the testosterone that men do.

Testosterone spray as a treatment for dementia is still in it’s early stages though doctors are keeping their fingers crossed. Women over 45 contract dementia and other forms of memory loss at a rate of twice that of men.