Researchers from the Mayo Clinic have linked the development of dementia with the procedure known as an ovariectomy (the surgical removal of a woman's ovaries). They say that the risk is especially elevated if a woman has her ovaries removed at a young age. The study was based on a group of over 2,500 women who had surgery to remove either one, or both, of their ovaries between 1950 and 1987. The Mayo researchers 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. They subsequently found a positive correlation between ovary removal and the development of dementia.
Study leader, Dr Walter Rocca, speculated that low estrogen levels due to the ovariectomy can lead to decreased protection from dementia and cognitive decline. The alternative hypothesis is that the ovaries are not involved, and it is the woman's genetic make-up that both dictates the need for ovary removal and also the development of dementia.
Although women with both ovaries removed are given hormone replacement therapy, Rocca said it was not sufficient for women who have the surgery at a young age. "Estrogen supplementation normally is not that long - women receive it for five or six years, till the menopausal symptoms diminish," he explained. "The current treatment is often not sufficient to get women who have ovariectomy through the age of natural menopause, especially if the surgery is performed at a young age."
Rocca said the study was of importance to those women contemplating ovary removal, who should discuss the findings with their doctor. "Like any medical or surgical decision, there is a trade between risk and benefit," he added. "Our findings are important for situations where the removal of the ovaries is elective - that is, conducted to reduce the risk of ovarian cancer."
Source: Mayo Clinic
