The right bug in the right place: opportunities for bacterial vaginosis treatment

Abstract Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a condition in which the vaginal microbiome presents an overgrowth of obligate and facultative anaerobes, which disturbs the vaginal microbiome balance. BV is a common and recurring vaginal infection among women of reproductive age and is associated with adverse...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Shengru Wu, Luisa Warchavchik Hugerth, Ina Schuppe-Koistinen, Juan Du
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2022-05-01
Series:npj Biofilms and Microbiomes
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41522-022-00295-y
Description
Summary:Abstract Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a condition in which the vaginal microbiome presents an overgrowth of obligate and facultative anaerobes, which disturbs the vaginal microbiome balance. BV is a common and recurring vaginal infection among women of reproductive age and is associated with adverse health outcomes and a decreased quality of life. The current recommended first-line treatment for BV is antibiotics, despite the high recurrence rate. Live biopharmaceutical products/probiotics and vaginal microbiome transplantation (VMT) have also been tested in clinical trials for BV. In this review, we discuss the advantages and challenges of current BV treatments and interventions. Furthermore, we provide our understanding of why current clinical trials with probiotics have had mixed results, which is mainly due to not administering the correct bacteria to the correct body site. Here, we propose a great opportunity for large clinical trials with probiotic strains isolated from the vaginal tract (e.g., Lactobacillus crispatus) and administered directly into the vagina after pretreatment.
ISSN:2055-5008