%0 Journal Article
%T The Lactobacillus flora in vagina and rectum of fertile and postmenopausal healthy Swedish women
%A Rita J Gustafsson
%A Siv Ahrn¨¦
%A Bengt Jeppsson
%A Cecilia Benoni
%A Crister Olsson
%A Martin Stjernquist
%A Bodil Ohlsson
%J BMC Women's Health
%D 2011
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1472-6874-11-17
%X Vaginal and rectal smears were taken from 20 healthy fertile women, average 40 years (range 28-49 years), in two different phases of the menstrual cycle, and from 20 postmenopausal women, average 60 years (range 52-85 years). Serum sex hormone levels were analyzed. Bacteria from the smears isolated on Rogosa Agar were grouped by Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA and identified by multiplex PCR and partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing.Lactobacillus crispatus was more often found in the vaginal flora of fertile women than in that of postmenopausal (p = 0.036). Fifteen of 20 fertile women had lactobacilli in their rectal smears compared to 10 postmenopausal women (p = 0.071). There was no correlation between the number of bacteria in vagina and rectum, or between the number of bacteria and hormonal levels. Neither could any association between the presence of rectal lactobacilli and hormonal levels be found.Lactobacillus crispatus was more prevalent in the vaginal flora of fertile women, whereas the Lactobacillus flora of rectum did not correlate to the vaginal flora nor to hormonal levels.Lactobacilli are non-spore-forming, gram-positive rods that form an important part of the normal human bacterial flora commonly found in the mucosa of the mouth [1-3], gastrointestinal (GI) tract [1-4] and female genitourinary tract [1,2,5,6]. They are considered protective organisms required to maintain health by producing lactic acid and other metabolites inhibiting growth of pathogenic organisms [7].The relationship between vaginal microbial flora, menstruation and levels of oestrogen is complex [8]. The most drastic changes in the vaginal flora occur at the onset of puberty, and are related to an increase of glycogen amount. The elevated glycogen level stimulates the growth of lactic acid-producing bacteria, especially Lactobacillus and Streptococcus [9]. Those conditions are usually maintained during the fertile years in a healthy vagina and start to change during the menopause. Th
%U http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6874/11/17