A controlled trial found improvements in selected cognitive complaints and attention/working-memory outcomes after risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy. The findings concern a selected post-surgery population, not a general treatment effect for every form of forgetfulness.
The trial assigned 69 participants with new executive-function complaints after risk-reducing surgery to six-week lisdexamfetamine and placebo periods in a randomized crossover design, separated by at least a two-week washout. Fifty-seven completed the study. Assessments included a self-report executive-function scale and objective attention, working-memory and learning tasks. Participants were genetically at risk for cancer; that clinical context was central to selection.
Lisdexamfetamine improved the self-report total and four of five subdomains relative to placebo, and favorable attention/working-memory findings were also reported. More participants endorsed side effects during active treatment, although completion rates were similar. A symptom rating and a performance test provide different kinds of evidence; improvement in both selected measures is stronger than either alone but does not establish improvement in all cognitive domains.
The treatment periods were short and the sample was demographically selected. Results cannot be transferred automatically to natural menopause, established ADHD, acute brain injury or methamphetamine use disorder. Nor did the study demonstrate prevention of dementia or a biological reversal of surgical menopause. Similar completion rates are not proof that side effects were absent. The experiment supports further evaluation of a specific symptomatic treatment question, while long-term benefit, safety and broader clinical use require additional evidence. No concentration-based impairment inference follows from a therapeutic response.
See a different clinical population with post-injury attention complaints.