In ovaries from 28 women ages 50 to 75, the tissue kept remodeling for decades after menopause

What the research found

Study (human tissue, not a trial). Mark A. Watson, Francesca Duncan, Birgit Schilling, and colleagues at the Buck Institute and Northwestern report in Aging Cell (first published 13 Oct 2026; DOI 10.1111/acel.70714). They measured healthy, non-pathological ovaries from 28 postmenopausal women ages 50 to 75, grouped as 50–59, 60–69, and 70 and older, and quantified 5,812 protein groups. The organ did not look stagnant. Compared with ages 50–59, ovaries at 70 and older shifted toward extracellular-matrix remodeling, inflammatory signaling, and complement activation, which the authors bundled as a 26-protein signature they call BuckPOMS. They checked two extracellular proteins, WNT4 and fibromodulin, by immunohistochemistry. This describes donated tissue. It does not show that the shift causes later disease, and it is not a treatment test. Not medical advice.

Evidence level: Human study. A study in people, but an association isn't proof of cause.

Read the original at Northwestern University / Buck Institute / Aging Cell