(Press-News.org) 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 multiple regions of the brain,” said Mielke, the study’s corresponding author. “There were also trends in some brain regions such that women who had PBO between the ages of 40-44 or 45-49 years also had reduced white matter integrity, but many of these results were not statistically significant.”
Mielke said that 80% of participants who had their ovaries removed also had a history of estrogen replacement therapy. Therefore, the study was not able to determine whether the use of estrogen replacement therapy after PBO mitigated the effects of PBO on white matter integrity. She noted that the ovaries secrete hormones both before (primarily estrogen, progesterone and testosterone) and after menopause (primarily testosterone and androstenedione).
“Having both ovaries removed results in an abrupt decrease in both estrogen and testosterone in women,” Mielke said. “Therefore, one possible explanation for our results is the loss of both estrogen and testosterone.”
Mielke said additional research is needed to further understand how white matter changes are associated with cognitive impairment.
“While these findings are important for women to consider before having premenopausal bilateral oophorectomy for non-cancerous conditions, we need a larger and more diverse cohort of women to validate these results.”
END
Removal of ovaries before menopause associated with reduced white matter in brain
2024-06-20
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Fewer good gut bacteria increase the risk of serious infection
2024-06-20
The composition of the intestinal flora can predict the chances of developing serious infections such as pneumonia. Researchers from Amsterdam UMC and the University of Turku, Finland, followed more than 10,000 people for 6 years. More than 600 people who had less healthy intestinal flora developed a serious infection, with this leading in some cases to death. The results of the study are published today in The Lancet Microbe.
The 602 people who were hospitalised due to an infection showed at the start of the study that they had fewer butyrate-producing ...
Sweat health monitor measures levels of disease markers
2024-06-20
PULLMAN, Wash. -- A wearable health monitor developed by Washington State University researchers can reliably measure levels of important biochemicals in sweat during physical exercise.
The 3D-printed monitor could someday provide a simple and non-invasive way to track health conditions and diagnose common diseases, such as diabetes, gout, kidney disease or heart disease.
Reporting in the journal, ACS Sensors, the researchers were able to accurately monitor the levels of volunteers’ glucose, lactate ...
Scientists devise algorithm to engineer improved enzymes
2024-06-20
Scientists have prototyped a new method for “rationally engineering” enzymes to deliver improved performance. They have devised an algorithm, which takes into account an enzyme’s evolutionary history, to flag where mutations could be introduced with a high likelihood of delivering functional improvements.
Their work – published today in leading journal Nature Communications – could have significant, wide-ranging impacts across a suite of industries, from food production to human ...
We may soon be able to detect cancer with AI
2024-06-20
A new paper in Biology Methods & Protocols, published by Oxford University Press, indicates that it may soon be possible for doctors to use artificial intelligence (AI) to detect and diagnose cancer in patients, allowing for earlier treatment. Cancer remains one of the most challenging human diseases, with over 19 million cases and 10 million deaths annually. The evolutionary nature of cancer makes it difficult to treat late-stage tumours.
Genetic information is encoded in DNA by patterns of the four bases—denoted by A, T, G and C—that make ...
Rate of cannabis use disorder during pregnancy increased over 20% after cannabis legalization in Canada
2024-06-20
In October 2018, Canada enacted the Cannabis Act in Canada (CAC), which legalised the non-medical use of cannabis. A new study has found that the rate of cannabis-related disorders diagnosed among pregnant women in the Canadian province of Québec increased by more than 20% after the enactment of the CAC, while rates for all other drug- and alcohol-related disorders remained stable. The study is published today in the scientific journal Addiction.
This study measured changes to the monthly rates of diagnosed cannabis-related disorders (CRDs) in the pregnant population in Québec. Since 2010 the monthly average number of CRDs has increased consistently, ...
Among cancer survivors, LGBTQ+ individuals report higher prevalence of chronic health conditions, disabilities, other limitations
2024-06-20
Bottom Line: Cancer survivors who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or anything other than straight and cisgender (LGBTQ+) experience more chronic health conditions, disabilities, and other physical and cognitive limitations than non-LGBTQ+ cancer survivors; however, the prevalence of most conditions was highest among transgender or gender non-conforming (TGNC) individuals.
Journal in Which the Study was Published: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of ...
Improving crops with laser beams and 3D printing
2024-06-20
A demonstration of how new technologies can be used in 21st century crop breeding comes from just published research that combines Laser Scanning and 3D printing to create a detailed 3D model of a sugar beet plant. Taking the next step beyond having genetic information to guide intelligent breeding, the 3D plant models here capture the essential characteristics of the above-ground parts of the sugar beet plant and can be used for AI-assisted crop improvement pipelines. The sugar beet plant models are reproducible and fit for field use. All the research information, data, methodology, as well as the 3D printing files are freely ...
Government’s failure to fortify all flour and rice with sufficient folic acid will lead to avoidable birth defects, warns expert
2024-06-20
The UK government’s failure to fortify all flour and rice with the vitamin folic acid “will result in more deaths and birth defects every year that could have been prevented,” argues Professor Sir Nicholas Wald in The BMJ today.
He warns that the current government’s proposal to fortify only one type of flour (non-wholemeal wheat flour) at an inadequate level will prevent only about 20% of neural tube defects, much less than the approximate 80% that could be prevented with fully effective fortification.
“What the government has done is a useful ...
Walking brings huge benefits for low back pain, study finds
2024-06-20
Adults with a history of low back pain went nearly twice as long without a recurrence of their back pain if they walked regularly, a world-first study has found.
About 800 million people worldwide have low back pain, and it is a leading cause of disability and reduced quality of life.
Repeated episodes of low back pain are also very common, with seven in 10 people who recover from an episode going on to have a recurrence within a year.
Current best practice for back pain management and prevention suggests the combination of ...
Study finds one copy of protective genetic variant helps stave off early-onset Alzheimer’s disease
2024-06-19
KEY TAKEAWAYS
An international team, including researchers from Mass General Brigham, has been searching for protective genetic variants in a family that includes more than 1,000 individuals who are genetically predisposed to develop early onset Alzheimer’s disease in their 40s.
Previously, the researchers identified the “Christchurch variant” as potentially protective against Alzheimer’s based on one family member who had two copies of this variant and was expected to develop dementia in her ...