Microbiome Matters: Exploring the Intersection of Vaginal Health and Reproductive Disorders 🧬🔬
Reproductive disorders affect millions of people worldwide. As we uncover more of the causative factors driving these diseases, including the potential role the vaginal #microbiome plays, the better we can devise treatments to address and minimise the extent to which these issues affect and harm those that suffer from them.
What we know:
⚪️ Studies have shown vaginal microbiome composition to vary between those suffering from polycystic ovarian syndrome and healthy individuals, with #PCOS patient composition consisting of pathogenic bacterial species linked to diseases such as bacterial vaginosis (#BV), and a reduced prevalence of beneficial #Lactobacillus which helps to defend against #infection (Tu et al., 2020)
⚪️ Findings suggest vaginal microbiome transplants from healthy individuals have potential to alleviate symptoms of #reproductive #disorders like #endometriosis by repopulating the dysbiotic space with a healthy #vaginome and reducing the presence of symptoms associated with these conditions such as endometriotic lesions and inflammation (Lu et al., 2022)
⚪️ Individuals with #infertility are more likely to possess greater amounts of BV-associated bacteria characteristic of asymptomatic vaginosis and a lower amount of lactobacilli than non-infertile counterparts. The general vaginome composition also varies, with Candida & Enterococcus species being more prevalent in people with infertility, while healthy vaginas were dominated with Lactobacillus (Babu et al., 2017)
⚪️ Vaginal microbiome #dysbiosis has also been linked to cervical cancer. This is due to a prolonged exposure to a #pathogenic environment that increase patient susceptibility to disorders such as aerobic vaginitis, chlamydia and BV, which may be associated with cervical carcinogenesis (Sekaran et al., 2023)
Industry impact & potential:
As more awareness is raised regarding reproductive health, many companies in the #healthcare market are making use of microbiome science to devise treatments for these conditions. LUCA Biologics is seeking to develop microbiota-based solutions for microbiome restoration to treat disorders associated with is imbalance including preterm birth (PTB). Freya Biosciences is an emergent start-up utilising microbial immunotherapies to treat conditions such as infertility & endometriosis associated with a dysbiotic microbiome.
Our solution:
At #Sequential, we have built a team of scientists who have spent the past 5 years studying the human microbiome carefully. We have advisors on our team, like Professor Phillip Bennett, who is a world leader in vaginal microbiome and pre-term birth. We have worked with over 60 clients globally, and we’re ready to work with your company on intimate #femalehealth applications, microbiome #testing, an #invivo and clinical #certification, and #formulation support.
Senior Director of Business Development, Aliri
1moÅsi, wonderful work!