Johnston ED

BackgroundVaginal lubricants are commonly used during sexual activity and clinical procedures such as transvaginal ultrasound. Epidemiologic and laboratory studies indicate hyperosmolal water-based lubricants may disrupt the vaginal microbi…

BackgroundHyperosmolal lubricants may negatively affect the vaginal microenvironment, increasing the risk for bacterial vaginosis (BV). We compared the incidence of Amsel-defined BV in reproductive-age women exposed to hyperosmolal lubrican…

Bacterial vaginosis, characterized in part by low levels of vaginal Lactobacillus species, has been associated with pro-inflammatory cytokines which could fuel uterine fibroid development. However, prior work on the associations between ute…

The outer layers of the vaginal epithelium (VE) are important because they accumulate glycogen which, under optimal conditions, Lactobacillus spp. consume to grow and acidify the vaginal microenvironment with lactic acid. We hypothesized th…