Search

Objectives: To investigate the effect of oral zinc supplementation on cervicovaginal lavage fluid (CVL) zinc level in pre and postmenopausal women., Study Design: A prospective interventional cohort study was carried out by the enrollment of twelve premenopausal and ten postmenopausal women without significant gynecological conditions. Women received daily oral supplementation with 30 mg of zinc for two weeks. Clinical and demographic variables were stored in a dedicated database. Vaginal Health Index was calculated, and vaginal cytology was obtained. CVL and serum samples were collected in a standardized fashion before and after completion of the oral supplementation. Zinc and copper levels were measured by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. Paired t-test was used to compare the before and after treatment results., Results: Serum zinc levels increased significantly both in the pre and postmenopausal women (0.88 ± 0.17 vs. 1.06 ± 0.23, p < 0.01 and 0.83 ± 0.24 vs. 0.96 ± 0.33, p < 0.01) after two weeks of daily oral zinc supplementation. CVL zinc level was significantly higher in the premenopausal group compared to the postmenopausal group before and after supplementation (0.13 ± 0.05 vs. 0.06 ± 0.04, p < 0.01 and 0.10 ± 0.03 vs. 0.05 ± 0.01, p < 0.01). Zinc supplementation had no significant impact on the CVL zinc level in either group. Neither serum nor CVL copper levels were affected by the zinc supplementation. There was no significant correlation between serum and CVL zinc or copper levels., Conclusion: Daily oral supplementation with 30 mg of zinc had no significant impact on CVL zinc level despite a significant rise in serum zinc level., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The following authors have no conflict of interest to declare: Damjanovich, Sipos, Kozma. Takacs is a paid consultant for Fempharma LLC., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background and Objectives: To assess the improvement on pelvic floor distress (PFD)-related urogenital symptoms using validated questionnaires after intravaginal CO 2 laser treatment., Study Design/materials and Methods: Forty postmenopausal women with genitourinary symptoms of menopause (GSM) were enrolled into this prospective cohort study and underwent vaginal laser treatment using MonaLisa Touch® fractional CO 2 laser system. Patients received three vaginal laser treatments with 360° probe 4 weeks apart. A three-component Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory (PFDI-20) validated questionnaire was filled out by each patient before each session and 4 weeks after the final treatment. Wilcoxon rank sum test was used to compare the before and after treatment scores., Results: Pelvic Organ Prolapse Distress Inventory (POPDI-6) scores were not significantly different after the first treatment compared with baseline (mean ± standard deviation [SD], 21 ± 18 vs. 17 ± 15, P = 0.44). However, each subsequent treatment resulted in further, statistically significant improvement in symptom scores (14 ± 15, P = 0.03 and 13 ± 13, P = 0.01, after the second and third treatments, respectively). Similarly, Urinary Distress Inventory (UDI-6) scores were not significantly different after the first laser treatment (mean ± SD, 36 ± 25 vs. 29 ± 23, P = 0.36). After the second and third treatments there were significant improvement in the standardized scores (24 ± 20, P = 0.03 and 22 ± 21, P = 0.01). Colorectal-Anal Distress Inventory (CRADI-8) scores did not change significantly after three laser treatments., Conclusions: Three sessions of microablative fractional CO 2 vaginal laser treatment significantly improves patient reported urinary and pelvic organ prolapse symptoms. Lasers Surg. Med. © 2019 The Authors. Lasers in Surgery and Medicine Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc., (© 2019 The Authors. Lasers in Surgery and Medicine Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)