Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a vaginal infection commonly occurring in sexually active females due to imbalance in the vaginal microbiota. Despite treatment with antibiotics, recurrence rates can reach up to 50% within the initial 3 months post-treatment in BV1. As an alternative therapeutic approach, probiotics have recently been demonstrated to help improve vaginal microbiota and reduce relapses of BV, though the route of administration remains questionable. A study by Rezazadeh et al. compared treatment efficacy of probiotics in BV patients via oral vs. vaginal routes2. The reported findings suggest that both routes of administration were efficacious in reducing vaginal bacterial overgrowth, supporting the use of probiotics as a promising alternative to conventional antibiotic treatment. Lin et al. further revealed that different efficacies were observed with different probiotic strains3; thus, further research into the area is warranted to counteract effects of BV through a more holistic approach.
References:
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