Urinary tract infections are common in women, and postmenopausal women may experience persistent and recurrent cystitis. In these women, the vaginal flora is apt to change owing to a decrease in lactobacillus. Cystitis therapy tends to be difficult because intestinal bacteria are present in the vagina.
The collaborative group of Dr. Takanori Sekito, Assistant Professor Takuya Sadahira, Professor Motoo Araki and Associate Professor Shuta Tomida of Okayama University Hospital found that the vaginal flora of women with recurrent cystitis is different from that observed in women with simple cystitis. Their study revealed that the administration of vaginal suppositories containing lactobacilli stabilizes the disrupted vaginal flora to suppress uropathogenic E. coli. The results were published in a research article in Frontiers in Microbiology.
The research group analyzed vaginal flora with vaginal samples from 39 postmenopausal women. Their results showed that, the flora of women with recurrent cystitis is different from that of women with normal cystitis. Moreover, they found that the administration of vaginal suppositories containing lactobacilli suppresses E. coli, a cause of cystitis, to stabilize the vaginal flora.
Their study may provide a new antibiotic-free prophylaxis for recurrent cystitis. In the future, they will clarify the mechanism of lactobacillus vaginal suppositories exerting the demonstrated effects and develop their research to provide a new option in vaginal suppositories.
Sekito stated, "I have been researching this by trial and error for about one year. I am really delighted with the publication of our results. I am deeply honored to report my achievement. I will continue to do my best to commercialize vaginal suppositories for those with intractable cystitis."
Journal Information
Publication: Frontiers in Microbiology
Title: Etiology of recurrent cystitis in postmenopausal women based on vaginal microbiota and the role of Lactobacillus vaginal suppository
DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1187479
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