Probiotic supplement improves bothersome vaginal odor, symptoms at ‘warp speed’
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Women who took a probiotic supplement for bothersome vaginal odor and symptoms such as irritation and painful urination reported substantial improvements within 2 weeks, according to study findings presented at the NAMS Annual Meeting.
The probiotic, Clairvee (Bonafide Health), is intended for women who report a vaginal odor “different than that which they think is normal for them” and other bothersome symptoms but who do not have an infection, according to Susan Kellogg Spadt, PhD, CRNP, director of female sexual medicine at the Center for Pelvic Medicine, Academic Urology of PA in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.
“[These women] are not infected, but they’re not feeling like this is normal for them, and maybe they don’t particularly care for the new scents, or they just think it’s different,” Kellogg Spadt told Healio. “[This probiotic] was being developed predominantly for women who complained of chronic yeast or bacterial vaginosis, both of which are legitimate vaginal infections. But what about that cadre of women who doesn’t have an infection, but who could benefit from this intervention?”
Kellogg Spadt and colleagues enrolled women from three medical centers across the United States in two open-label trials of Clairvee lasting 4 weeks. Women took one capsule daily for 15 consecutive days each month. Capsules contained 400 µg of dietary folate equivalent; 5 billion colony-forming units of a vaginal blend of Lactobacillus acidophilus and L. rhamnosus; and 50 mg of lactoferrin.
Participants completed the Vulvovaginal Symptoms Questionnaire (VSQ) every 2 weeks starting at baseline to rate severity of vaginal symptoms, satisfaction with the probiotic, and impact of the probiotic on life generally and on sexual activity, if the participant was sexually active.
Clairvee for bothersome odor
The first study included 33 women aged 24 to 70 years who had no vaginal infection but reported bothersome vaginal odor, all of whom reported improvement for at least one vaginal symptom — such as itching, discharge, burning, dryness, odor, irritation or painful urination — within 4 weeks.
At 2 weeks, 63% of women reported improved vaginal odor. At 4 weeks, 75% reported improvements in odor. Improvements were significant at both timepoints (P < .01), according to the researchers. Of note, 30% of women reported an absence of odor at 2 and 4 weeks.
According to Kellogg Spadt, these improvements happened at “warp speed.”
“At 2 weeks and 4 weeks, women were already saying things were changing quite dramatically,” Kellogg Spadt said. “That is the thing that was most surprising to me, as I thought that we might see a signal at 4 weeks, or maybe we should have extended the study and made it longer, but right away, people were saying something’s changing.”
Among sexually active women, combined VSQ scores improved from baseline through week 2 and through week 4 (both P < .01).
Additionally, 84% of women said the dosing regimen was “convenient,” and more than half were satisfied with treatment after 2 weeks.
Clairvee for vaginal symptoms
For the second study, Kellogg and colleagues included women aged 24 to 82 years who had no vaginal infection but reported vaginal symptoms. At 2 and 4 weeks, improvements in vaginal symptoms were reported (both P < .05).
Among sexually active women, 40% reported more sexual desire, 41% reported improved sexual relationships, 41% reported less pain during sexual activity, 48% reported less dryness with sexual activity, 24% reported less bleeding during sexual activity and 39% reported fewer vaginal symptoms relating to sexual activity.
A 6-month extension trial of Clairvee is ongoing to evaluate whether the improvements observed in these studies are sustainable, Kellogg Spadt said.
References:
- Kellogg Spadt S, et al. Abstract P-35. Presented at: North American Menopause Society Annual Meeting; Oct. 12-15, 2022; Atlanta.
- Kellogg Spadt S, et al. Abstract P-36. Presented at: North American Menopause Society Annual Meeting; Oct. 12-15, 2022; Atlanta.