1,721,064 research outputs found
Efficacy of a maintenance therapy with topical boric acid in comparison with oral itraconazole in the treatment of recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis
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Antimicrobial Activity of a Vaginal Gel Formulation: Considerations Related to Vaginal Infection and Dysbiosis
Full text linkMany non-prescription preparations intended to treat or alleviate symptoms of vaginal infection are available in American and European markets, but many have scant preclinical or clinical research underpinning. Respecta®Balance Gel (RBG) is marketed as an adjunct to probiotic treatment and its relevant antimicrobial properties were studied. Key findings with the manufacturer-supplied gel showed reduced turbidity in broth-dilution tests by 50% against Candida albicans and Candida glabrata at RBG concentrations 0.2–0.4% of neat product, respectively. A 50% reduction in turbidity of Escherichia coli, Streptococcus agalactiae, Enterococcus faecalis ranged from 1.6–2.2% and Gardnerella vaginalis was shown by flow cytometry counts to undergo a 50% reduction at 0.3% RBG. Propidium iodide staining indicated a rapid reduction of cell integrity of G. vaginalis almost immediately while after 4 h 45% of E. coli cells were stained. The lactic acid in BHI inhibited bacteria and yeast at concentrations ranging from 0.2–1.8% but inhibition was not solely due to pH since a 1:4 dilution of RBG resulted in a pH near neutral (6.75). Other findings showed biofilm accumulation assessed after 10-days exposure of Candida spp. to RBG and was reduced by an average of one-third (community strains) to one-half (drug-resistant strains). One excipient of the RBG, disodium EDTA, inhibited the growth of bacteria and yeast at concentrations below those present in RBG and may accentuate the activity of the host defense factor, lactoferrin. We conclude that RBG is a potent inhibitor of vaginal microorganisms relevant to vaginitis or intrapartum infections and contains excipients that may contribute to its antimicrobial activity
Ladylift® non-ablative laser technology for the treatment of menopausal vestibulodynia and genitourinary syndrome
Full text linkIntroduction: Genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM) affects up to 48% of pre-menopause women and up to 90% of menopausal women. Many menopausal women with dyspareunia have significant vestibular tenderness due to oestrogen deficiency, which increases the density of sensory nerve fibres in the vulva and the vagina. For this reason, GSM is recognized as one of the causes of provoked vestibulodynia. Few therapies have proven to be effective for provoked vestibulodynia. Many studies have shown the efficacy of laser CO2 therapy, proving its cost-effectiveness and safety for vaginal health.Material and methods: In this article we tested a new non-ablative solid-state laser: Ladylift (R). The main difference between Ladylift (R) and other laser technologies is the use of a non-ablative laser wavelength of 1470 nm, without causing ablative thermal injury on the surface of the mucosa. We enrolled 18 post-menopausal women presenting to a private clinic with GSM symptoms and provoked vulvodynia.Results: The treatment protocol consists of 4 sessions of laser, 2 weeks apart, of the duration of 4 minutes. Benefits to menopause symptoms, reported with a numeric rating scale, and to epithelium trophism reported with the vaginal health index were apparent since the first session. Patients undergoing laser therapy have had evident benefit both from the point of view of pain and from that of vaginal health. Conclusions: All the women tolerated the therapy well without any adverse effects. However, the beneficial effect tended to gradually decrease over time, suggesting the need to perform more therapy sessions
Emerging Roles of the Complement System at Foeto-maternal Interface
No full textThe complement system is one of the major components of humoral innate immunity, acting as one of the first lines of defence against microbes, but new roles in inflammatory and immunological processes are emerging. The placenta undergoes
an intense process of tissue remodelling which leads to the activation of the complement (C) system resulting in the release of potentially destructive activation products that need to be neutralized. The protection of the foetus against maternal C activation products is achieved by the surface expression of regulators. The liver is the main source of the plasma C components although extra-hepatic synthesis in several tissues and organs has been documented. The data collected recently indicate that trophoblast cells are able to secrete C3 and C4 and the recognition molecule C1q, contributing to the local synthesis at the placental level. Besides trophoblast cells, decidual endothelial cells acquire the ability to synthesize and express C1q on the cell surface. All these observations support the role of C1q in the placental development and its importance in trophoblast endovascular and interstitial invasion. In conclusion it is increasingly evident that a new role of complement and in particular C1q in the processes of tissue homeostasis as well as is in inflammation and infection is now emerging
The role of the recognition molecules of the complement system: from local host defence to promotion of embryo implantation
No full textLE INFEZIONI IN OSTETRICIA E GINECOLOGIA
No full textSebbene oggi le infezioni in ginecologia non costituiscano sempre un pericolo così grave per le pazienti e i chirurghi, il problema delle complicanze infettive post-operatorie è ancora molto attuale, e tutt’altro che risolto. In Italia non esiste un sistema di sorveglianza delle infezioni nosocomiali, anche se studi di prevalenza e d’incidenza hanno riportato una frequenza d’infezioni ospedaliere paragonabile a quella rilevata negli altri Paesi europei. Si può stimare che in Italia dal 5 all’8% dei pazienti ricoverati contragga un’infezione ospedaliera: si può, quindi, stimare che ogni anno, in Italia, si verifichino dalle 450.000 alle 700.000 infezioni in pazienti ricoverati in ospedale, soprattutto infezioni urinarie, seguite da infezioni della ferita chirurgica, polmoniti e sepsi. Poiché le infezioni ospedaliere potenzialmente prevenibili rappresentano il 30% circa di quelle insorte, si può stimare che ogni anno vi siano fra le 135.000 e le 210.000 infezioni prevenibili, e che queste siano causa del
decesso nell’1% dei casi. Risultano, quindi, prevenibili dai 1350 ai 2100 decessi circa in un anno (Dati del Ministero della Salute)
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