Newswise — WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – June 20, 2024 – Women who have their ovaries removed before menopause, particularly before the age of 40, have reduced white matter integrity in multiple regions of the brain later in life.
White matter refers to the nerve fibers that connect neurons in different areas of the brain. The findings appear online today in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association. “We know that having both ovaries removed before natural menopause causes abrupt endocrine dysfunction, which increases the risk of cognitive impairment and dementia,” said Michelle Mielke, Ph.
D. , professor and chair of epidemiology and prevention at Wake Forest University School of Medicine . “But few neuroimaging studies have been conducted to better understand the underlying mechanisms.
” For the study, the research team examined data from the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging to identify women over the age of 50 with available diffusion tensor imaging, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique that measures white matter in the brain. The cohort was comprised of: 22 participants who had premenopausal bilateral oophorectomy (PBO) before age 40 43 participants who had PBO between the ages of 40 and 45 39 participants who had PBO between the ages of 46 and 49 907 participants who did not have PBO before the age of 50. “Females who had premenopausal bilateral oophorectomy before the age of 40 had significantly reduced white matter integrity in mult.
