Ovary removal may raise Parkinson’s risk
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Women who undergo removal of one or both ovaries prior to menopause appear to be at increased risk of developing Parkinson’s disease or similar conditions, investigators report.
Numerous animal studies have indicated that estrogen protects the brain’s neurons and thereby decreases the risk of Parkinson’s disease, Dr. W. A. Rocca and associates note in the medical journal Neurology—but clinical evidence has been inconclusive.
The researchers, at the at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota, studied more than 2300 premenopausal women who had undergone single or double ovary removal, and 2368 age-matched “controls” with intact ovaries.
All of the women were born before 1962, and the surgery (technically known as oophorectomy) was performed between 1950 and 1987 for reasons other than ovarian cancer.
During follow-up, the likelihood of developing symptoms of Parkinson’s disease was 68 percent higher for the women in the oophorectomy group than in the control group, with a trend toward increased risk with younger age at surgery.
The findings were similar regardless of the reason for the surgery “and for unilateral or bilateral oophorectomy considered separately,” the investigators write.
They suggest that the premature drop in estrogen caused by the removal of the ovaries robs neurons of the protective benefits associated with the hormone, thereby raising the risk of Parkinson’s disease and other neurologic disorders.
“This study is one of the first to support the hypothesis of a critical age window for the protective effect of estrogen,” Rocca’s team points out. “However, independent replication of our findings is needed before they can be considered in guiding gynecological practices.”
SOURCE: Neurology, January 15, 2008.
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