Comparison of the vaginal microbial communities in women with recurrent genital HSV receiving acyclovir intravaginal rings.

ABSTRACT: Vaginally administered antiviral agents may reduce the risk of HIV and HSV acquisition. Delivery of these drugs using intravaginal rings (IVRs) holds the potential benefits of improving adherence and decreasing systemic exposure, while maintaining steady-state drug levels in the vaginal tract. Elucidating how IVRs interact with the vaginal microbiome constitutes a critical step in evaluating the safety of these devices, as shifts the vaginal microbiome have been linked with several disease states. To date, clinical IVR trials have relied on culture-dependent methods that omit the high diversity of unculturable microbial population. Longitudinal, culture-independent characterization of the microbiota in vaginal samples from 6 women with recurrent genital HSV who used an acyclovir IVR was ca

SUBMITTER: Ursell LK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4006976 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature