A surprising discovery in aging ovaries

Francesca Duncan, a reproductive biologist at Northwestern University, expected to find little activity in postmenopausal ovaries. Instead, she discovered the molecular signatures of aged ovaries differed significantly across the decades.

“Clearly something is still happening”

Ovaries reshape our understanding of aging

Researchers are recasting the ovary not as an egg factory with an expiration date, but as an organ that impacts a woman's overall health and may shape the trajectory of aging long after fertile years have passed.

Removing healthy ovaries harms women

For decades, surgeons removed healthy ovaries during hysterectomies. But twenty years ago, evidence showed removing healthy ovaries increased risk of dementia, cardiovascular disease, and premature death.

Postmenopausal ovaries still produce hormones

Biologists have known for decades that after menopause, ovaries continue producing hormones, including testosterone and small amounts of estrogen. But arguments continue over the clinical significance of those hormones.

Low estrogen levels affect memory circuits

Brain-imaging work by Pauline Maki at the University of Illinois at Chicago shows that even low levels of estrogen circulating postmenopause may matter. Women with higher levels had better-functioning memory circuits when performing memory tasks.

Ovaries become more inflammatory with age

Duncan's team found that protein patterns in older ovaries suggested the ovary becomes a more inflammatory environment. Research published in June in the journal Molecular Human Reproduction suggests the ovary may take on a completely new identity after menopause.

Inflammation may increase disease risk

Comparing ovaries of two-month-old mice, eighteen-month-old mice, and twenty-four-month-old mice, researchers found genes linked to inflammation and immune activity became far more active over time. This may make the ovary more prone to age-related diseases like ovarian cancer.

“We think that a lot of those changes may make the ovary more prone to age-related diseases like ovarian cancer”

Ovaries may reorganize hormone production

David Pépin, a reproductive biologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, found that years after cats received experimental birth-control gene therapy preventing follicles from maturing, they still produced estrogen, testosterone, and inhibin at completely normal levels.

Stromal cells may take over hormone production

Pépin's preliminary work suggests that when follicles disappear, other cells in the ovary called the stroma appear to take over hormone production. Pilot studies in mice suggest a similar effect, pointing to a natural mechanism maintaining hormone production as follicles wane.

Major gaps remain in ovarian research

Stephanie Faubion, medical director of the Menopause Society, says how long the ovary's importance persists after menopause is still an open question. It is also unclear how much the answer may vary from woman to woman.

“We just have huge gaps”

The ovary is not a dead organ

David Pépin emphasizes that we know little about how other ovarian hormones disrupted at menopause may contribute to health. The postmenopausal ovary remains active and important to understanding women's long-term health.

“It is not a dead organ”