In article <9501102017.AA03391 at umailsrv1.UMD.EDU>,
Lynne_A_WHITEHEAD at UMAIL.UMD.EDU (lw75) wrote:
My question is if anyone
> knows what would cause a decrease in the lactobacilli present in the vagina.
> Are there any general environmental changes that would cause the bacteria to
> react this way? (I do know that there is a pH increase >4.5 present in BV
> infections, could this be the reason?)
>> Any input would be helpful!
>> Thanks!
>> Lynne Whitehead
> U. of Maryland - Microbiology Dept.
> College Park, MD
Hi Lynne,
A possible cause is a hormonal change that alters the vaginal flora,
therefore I suppose that the decrease of lactobacilli is also due to the
lack of specific substrates such as glycogen, which normally is deposited
in the vaginal epithelium.
At birth the female infant«s vagina is sterile, but after a few hours it
is colonized with aerobic organisms.
After a few days, estrogen from the maternal circulation induces the
deposition of glycogen in the vagina and enhances the growth of
lactobacilli.
After a while the estrogen is excreted and the lactobacilli are lost.
At puperty, endogenous estrogen appears, glycogen is deposited in the
vaginal epithelium and a flora dominated by lactobacilli again develops.
Hope this is a help
Peter
--
Peter Pfaller
Inst. fuer Med. Mikorbiologie
Klinikum Grosshadern
81377 Muenchen
Marchioninistr.15
Tel. 089/70954048
pfaller at mpk.med.uni-muenchen.de
