Health Center - Perimenopause

Not sure why you're waking in a sweat? Never sure when or if your period will occur or why you bleed so much when it does? You may not think you're old enough for menopause, but perimenopause—the transitional time leading up to menopause—can last several years. Let us help you manage this stage of your life.

Early Ovary Removal May Be Tied to Lapses in Memory, Thinking

HealthDay News

The younger the surgical menopause patient, the more brain decline, preliminary research shows

By Mary Brophy Marcus
HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Jan. 14 (HealthDay News) -- The younger a woman is when she undergoes surgical menopause, the greater her chances of developing memory problems at an earlier age, new research suggests.

Surgical menopause describes the end of ovarian function due to gynecological surgery before the age of natural menopause. It involves the removal of one or both ovaries (an oophorectomy), often in combination with a hysterectomy, the removal of a woman's uterus.

"For women with surgically induced menopause, early age at menopause was associated with a faster decline in memory," said study author Dr. Riley Bove, an instructor in neurology at Harvard Medical School and an associate neurologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. However, she stressed, "These are very preliminary data."