Almost 4,000 women in the UK undergo operations each year to remove their ovaries. The procedure, which triggers the menopause, is often carried out on younger women to prevent cancer.

But now scientists from Toronto University have linked the surgery with a reduction in memory and thinking skills.

Experts fear this may eventually lead to early-onset dementia for many women, and even to Alzheimer’s.

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Connecting women, science and spirit, the Gynelogic Sunday Supplement delivers a bi-monthly dose of  news, views and reviews, as seen through my lady lens.