The rodent vaginal microbiome across the estrous cycle and the effect of genital nerve electrical stimulation.

ABSTRACT: Treatment options are limited for the approximately 40% of postmenopausal women worldwide who suffer from female sexual dysfunction (FSD). Neural stimulation has shown potential as a treatment for genital arousal FSD, however the mechanisms for its improvement are unknown. One potential cause of some cases of genital arousal FSD are changes to the composition of the vaginal microbiota, which is associated with vulvovaginal atrophy. The primary hypothesis of this study was that neural stimulation may induce healthy changes in the vaginal microbiome, thereby improving genital arousal FSD symptoms. In this study we used healthy rats, which are a common animal model for sexual function, however the rat vaginal microbiome is understudied. Thus this study also sought to examine the composition o

SUBMITTER: Levy M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7067422 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature