Jacques Ravel

BACKGROUND: Vaginal 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 micro…

BACKGROUND: Hyperosmolal 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 lubric…

BACKGROUND: The cervicovaginal microbiome plays a critical role in women's health with microbial communities dominated by Lactobacillus species considered optimal. In contrast, the depletion of lactobacilli and the presence of a diverse arr…

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is associated with HIV transmission and pre-term birth, yet the etiology of BV remains unknown. Our analysis addressed that knowledge gap by comparing diagnostic techniques and using Bayesian inference to find speci…

The vaginal microbiota is critical for reproductive health, and its disruption, particularly the loss of Lactobacillus spp. and dominance of anaerobes such as Mobiluncus mulieris (community state type IV, CST IV), is associated with bacteri…

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…

BACKGROUND: Genital infection with Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) is the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection, especially among young women. Mostly asymptomatic, it can lead, if untreated, to pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), t…