34 MENOPAUSE SYMPTOMS |
HEALTH CENTER |
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Surgical Menopause may affect Cognition |
Menopausal women experiencing declining estrogen levels may be at risk for cognitive impairment such as memory lapses. However, new studies suggest that women who have undergone surgical menopause are at an even higher risk for cognitive damage. |
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Drs. Henderson and Sherwin explored the subject by conducting evidence-based research and looking at the results of hormone-therapy trials. The researchers found that while natural menopause may not necessarily be associated with cognitive decline, women who undergo surgical menopause suffer more often from cerebral deterioration, especially in the area of "verbal episodic memory".
The risk for cognitive decline and serious neurological disorders is even greater for women who have undergone surgical menopause at a younger age, according to a recent article published in Science News. Dr. Walter Rocca from the Mayo clinic led a team of researchers in a study of women who had undergone surgical ovary removal, or oophorectomy, during the years of 1950 to 1987.
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676 of the subjects had total oophorectomy, and 813 underwent the removal of one ovary. This group was compared with 1,471 "control" women who corresponded to the test subjects in age.
Interviews were conducted with the subjects and the controls to establish any diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, dementia or other neurological disorders, memory lapses, and/or impairment in daily living. |
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150 of the subjects who had undergone partial or total ovary removal reported cognitive deterioration or dementia, as opposed to 98 women in the control group. Women who underwent oopherectomy before the age of 41 were also at a greater risk for conditions similar to Parkinson's disease (parkinsonism), which cause mental and physical impairment.
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The risk of cognitive impairment and neurological deficiency is age-related, the study found. Women who have surgical menopause at a younger age are at a much higher risk, although this may be alleviated by undergoing estrogen replacement therapy. Rocca and his team thus conclude that estrogen may have a farther-reaching and more complex effect in the brain than previously suspected.
Both studies concluded that although estrogen replacement therapy should not be pursued by older, postmenopausal women suffering from cognitive impairment, such as memory lapses, such therapies can be beneficial for younger women after surgically induced menopause.
By Natural-Progesterone-Estrogen-Supplements.com |
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