Oophorectomy Before Menopause? Timing Might Not Be on Your Side

Estrogen’s neuroprotective effects have been demonstrated in animal studies; however, analogous findings in women — particularly after menopause — have been inconclusive. Is there a critical period for the benefits of estrogen (or the deleterious effects of its absence) on the brain? As part of the Mayo Clinic Cohort Study of Oophorectomy and Aging, investigators assessed the risks for developing (1) cognitive problems or dementia and (2) parkinsonism among women who underwent unilateral or bilateral oophorectomy before menopause (or before age 56 if age at menopause was unknown) and among a referent group of women who had not undergone this surgical procedure. All surgeries were performed from 1950 through 1987 primarily for noncancer indi…