A novel biomaterial developed by researchers at the University of California, San Diego, may help treat commonly overlooked menopausal vaginal changes and discomfort experienced by many women.
As many as 84% of menopausal women experience genitourinary syndrome of menopause, a condition that can cause vaginal dryness, irritation, and pain during intercourse and significantly affect quality of life. Current treatments, mainly estrogen creams, help with surface issues but don’t address deeper tissue problems.
Marianna Alperin, MD, and researchers at her lab created a gel-like material derived from pig vaginal tissue designed to mimic the natural environment of the vagina and stimulate the body’s own healing processes.
“We used porcine vaginal tissue that was minced, decellularized by detergent, lyophilized, milled into powder, and enzymatically digested,” said Alperin, professor and vice chair for translational research in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences and professor of urology at the University of California, San Diego.
Using the vaginal extracellular matrix biomaterial on rats — which have vaginal tissue similar to that of humans — improved vaginal epithelial thickness and health of the vaginal lining.
Three days after administering the biomaterial, the treatment group exhibited a mean epithelial thickness of 32.37 ± 6.29 µm, compared with 19.00 ± 1.59 µm in the saline control group (P < .0001). Rats treated with vaginal extracellular matrix biomaterial also showed a mean smooth muscle layer thickness of 54.02 ± 10.56 µm, significantly thicker than the saline group’s 35.07 ± 7.80 µm (P < .05), the study found.
“While [the biomaterial] did not restore the epithelial thickness all the way to the level of the healthy, unperturbed animals, it certainly was superior to the other groups, especially at the higher dose,” she said.
It also enhanced the underlying muscle layer, something current treatments don’t typically achieve, the researchers noted.
Alperin’s research was awarded best overall paper at the American Urogynecologic Society’s PFD Week conference in Washington, DC.
The material seems to work by interacting with immune cells to carry the healing material deeper into the vaginal tissues, potentially explaining its widespread effects.
“It looked like the cells are trafficking the biomaterial into the deeper tissues, which is very exciting,” said Alperin, adding that unlike existing treatments, this new approach may improve both the surface layer and deeper tissues of the vagina.
Also, the benefits appeared to increase with higher doses of the material, they found.
While the study shows promise, Alperin acknowledged that further research is needed, particularly in comparing their treatment with topical estrogen.
“We are repeating the experiment with the dose adjusted to the volume of the rat vagina,” Alperin said.
A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.