scholarly journals The Vaginal Microbiome: A Long Urogenital Colonization Throughout Woman Life

Author(s):  
Renata S. Auriemma ◽  
Roberta Scairati ◽  
Guendalina del Vecchio ◽  
Alessia Liccardi ◽  
Nunzia Verde ◽  
...  

Vaginal microbial niche is a dynamic ecosystem, composed by more than 200 bacterial species which are influenced by genes, ethnic background and environmental-behavioral factors. Several lines of evidence have well documented that vaginal microbiome constantly changes over the course of woman’s life, so to exert an important impact on woman quality of life, from newborn to post-menopausal ages. This review aims at analyzing the role of vaginal microbiome in the maintenance of woman’s homeostasis and at tracking critical changes that commonly occur across woman’s lifetime. The role of hormone replacement therapy in the modulation of vaginal microbiome composition and in the improvement of vaginal wellness in postmenopausal women with decreasing levels of circulating estrogen is discussed.

2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (6) ◽  
pp. 843-854
Author(s):  
Olga Novikova ◽  
Yelena Ulrikh ◽  
V. Nosov ◽  
A. Charkhifalakyan

There is presented the review of domestic and foreign references on the conserved oncological safety of the use of menopausal hormone therapy after treatment for endometrial cancer, cervical cancer, borderline and malignant ovarian tumors, various variants of sarcomas of the uterus, vulva and vaginal cancer. To the opinion of the authors the refusal to prescribe menopausal hormone therapy to patients with oncogynecologic diseases in the anamnesis is usually not justified, the category of patients, to whom hormone replacement therapy is contraindicated, is well described and mentioned in the text. In other cases sex hormones can be used to treat menopausal symptoms and improve the quality of life of patients.


2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (7_suppl) ◽  
pp. 113-113
Author(s):  
TS Wiley ◽  
Jason T. Haraldsen

113 Background: Many treatments for breast cancer block the estrogen receptors to reduce the risk of relapse. However, this treatment results in massive changes to the normal hormonal milieu. When the normal rhythmic hormonal patterns are disrupted, either through treatment or normal menopause, women typically experience a multitude of harsh symptoms with little affect on relapse rate. We set out to examine and evaluate the effects of estrogen (E2) and progesterone (P4) treatments via a bio-mimetic bio-identical hormone replacement therapy (BBHRT). We theorized, through the analysis of physiological and clinical literature, that the use BBHRT in the normal physiological pattern of reproductive women will lead to an increase of overall well-being and better quality of life for post-treatment and menopausal women, but does not increase their risk of breast cancer. Methods: E2 and P4 control over 9,000 different gene products and a disruption of these processes can lead to an increase in illnesses of aging including cancer. Through an evaluation of current literature, we theorize that a BBHRT approach utilizing E2 and P4 in a bio-mimetic manner to restore a woman’s body to normal hormonal levels can be achieved through twice-daily transdermal applications of hormonal creams with peaks in serum levels on days 12 and 21. The proposed method uses compounded, bio-identical hormones dosed to mimic the female reproductive cycle. Results: While this is a proposed clinical study, it is expected that women will experience resolution of menopausal and post-treatment symptoms, including better sleep, decreased migraines and incontinence, increased focus, and increased libido. By restoring the normal hormonal rhythm, it is anticipated that the body’s natural response elements will help restore both quality of life and well being, while also protecting from possible relapse. Conclusions: We propose a method to provide better quality of life and well being for women through BHRT that combines the use of E2 and P4 in a manner that mimics a woman’s normal reproductive levels. While a small long-term study of this method has shown promising results, we conclude that further, most detailed studies are still needed.


2001 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jo Marsden ◽  
Michael Baum ◽  
Roger A'Hern ◽  
Andrea West ◽  
Lesley Fallowfield ◽  
...  

Objective. The effect of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on the sexual functioning and quality of life of breast cancer patients has not received significant attention. Study design. One hundred postmenopausal women with early stage breast cancer who were experiencing vasomotor symptoms and/or vaginal dryness participated in a randomised trial of HRT. Main outcome measures. Women completed questionnaires at three and six months to determine changes in their quality of life, vaginal dryness and sexual activity. Results. At baseline, 52% (49/94) of patients were sexually active. Lack of a partner was the main reason for sexual inactivity (38% (17/45)). HRT had no significant effect on the proportion of women complaining of vaginal dryness or the severity of this symptom. HRT did not increase the proportion of women who were sexually active (53%(43/81)) but was associated with non-significant trends for improvements in pleasure and reduction of discomfort during intercourse. Non-significant trends towards improvements in physical functioning, sleep disturbance and fatigue were observed with HRT. Patient numbers were too small to determine whether the concomitant use of tamoxifen influenced any of these outcomes. Conclusions. Lack of a significant improvement in quality of life with HRT may reflect the possibility that patient concern about HRT negated its symptomatic benefits. Failure of HRT to improve vaginal dryness may partly account for a lack of improvement in sexual functioning. There is a need for evaluation of interventions to improve sexual functioning in breast cancer patients but the use of hormonal therapy should be restricted to controlled trials.


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