Histological and Gene Expression Analysis of the Effects of Menopause Status and Hormone Therapy on the Vaginal Introitus and Labia Majora
January 2019
in “
Journal of clinical medicine research
”
menopause hormone therapy vaginal introitus labia majora epithelial thinning gene expression tissue remodeling wound healing metabolism vaginal atrophy genitourinary syndrome of menopause vaginal opening outer vaginal lips thinning of vaginal lining gene activity tissue repair healing body processes vaginal dryness GSM
TLDR Menopause causes significant changes in the vaginal introitus, but less so in the labia majora, which may lead to symptoms of vaginal atrophy.
The study investigated the effects of menopause and hormone therapy (HT) on the vaginal introitus and labia majora in 30 women. It found significant histological and gene expression changes in post-menopausal women, particularly in the introitus, with epithelial thinning and altered gene expression related to tissue remodeling, wound healing, and inflammation. HT mitigated these changes, aligning the histology and gene expression patterns more closely with those of pre-menopausal women. The labia majora exhibited fewer changes. The findings suggested that these changes might contribute to the symptoms of the genitourinary syndrome of menopause.
