Ovary Removal Studied for Dementia Risk
Posted on: Wednesday, 5 April 2006, 18:00 CDT
Mayo Clinic researchers have found an ovariectomy, surgical removal of a woman's ovaries, raises her risk of developing dementia or cognitive impairment.
The scientists, led by Dr. Walter Rocca, a neurologist and epidemiologist, said the risk increases if a woman's ovaries are removed at a young age.
The researchers studied 1,209 women who had surgical removal of both ovaries and 1,302 women who had only one removed between 1950 and 1987. They compared each of the women who had undergone ovary removal with women who had no ovaries removed and followed them over time to see whether they developed dementia or cognitive impairment.
Rocca proposes two possible theories to explain the increased dementia risk: Low estrogen due to the ovary removal leads to decreased protection of a woman's brain from cognitive decline; or the ovariectomy is innocent and variations in the genes a woman is born with dictate the need for ovary removal and also prompt development of dementia or cognitive impairment.
The study was presented Wednesday during the American Academy of Neurology meeting in San Diego.
Source: United Press International
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