Women’s Brain Health: Midlife Ovarian Removal Affects Associative Memory

• DOI: 10.1007/s12035-023-03424-6
• Publication Date: 2023-07-10T02:01:31Z
• Authors: Alana Brown; Nicole J. Gervais; Jenny Rieck; Anne Almey; Laura Gravelsins; Rebekah Reuben; Laurice Karkaby; M. Natasha Rajah; Cheryl Grady; Gillian Einstein
• Keywords: Estradiol; Ovariectomy; Menopause; Oophorectomy; Associative memory; Hippocampus; Estradiol; Functional magnetic resonance imaging; Estrogen Replacement Therapy; Neurosciences; Humans; Brain; Female; Menopause; Neurovetenskaper; Article; 3. Good health; Aged

Women with early bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (BSO; removal of ovaries and fallopian tubes) have greater Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk than women in spontaneous/natural menopause (SM), but biomarkers this are not well-characterized. Considering associative memory deficits may presage preclinical AD, we wondered if one the earliest changes might be whether younger BSO had similar to those observed SM. (with without 17β-estradiol replacement therapy (ERT)), their age-matched premenopausal controls (AMC), older SM completed a functional magnetic resonance imaging face-name task shown predict AD. Brain activation during encoding was compared between groups: AMC (n=25), no ERT n=15), BSO+ERT (n=16), hormone (n=16). Region-of-interest analyses revealed did contribute group differences. higher hippocampal This correlated positively urinary metabolite levels 17β-estradiol. Multivariate partial least squares showed different network-level pattern Thus, despite being approximately 10 years younger, brain function SM, suggesting loss lead an altered phenotype which could influence late-life AD risk, making potential biomarker for midlife increased risk. Despite similarities activation, groups opposite within-hippocampus connectivity, type is important consideration when assessing function.