Ovary removal Increase Risk of Dementia, April 5, 2006

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic, led by Dr. Walter Rocca, have found that ovariectomy, surgical removal of a woman's ovaries, raises her risk of developing dementia.

According to this study, 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 to determine if they developed dementia.

According to Dr. Rocca, Low estrogen due to the ovary removal may lead 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.