Changes in Vaginal Microbiome Diversity in Women With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a complex endocrine disorder that affects women. It can be accompanied by many clinical manifestations that can vary between individuals. Previous studies have found that there are specific changes in the intestinal flora of PCOS patients, and interventions to modify the intestinal flora can significantly improve the symptoms of PCOS. Women with PCOS have a higher incidence of vaginitis compared to healthy women. Few studies to-date have focused on investigating vaginal flora. Here, we aimed to explore distribution changes of the vaginal microbiome in PCOS patients. We recruited 42 PCOS patients (T-PCOS) and 24 healthy controls (T-control). 16s rRNA gene sequencing was used to sequence their vaginal microbiome. Normally, Lactobacillus was dominated in vaginal. Lactobacillus-dominated-type vaginal microbiome in T-PCOS and T-control (L-PCOS and L-control) and non-Lactobacillus-dominated-type vaginal microbiome in T-PCOS and T-control (N-PCOS and N-control) were analyzed separately. A total of 655 operational taxonomic units were detected in this sequencing, including 306 unique to T-PCOS, 202 unique to T-control, and 147 common between the two groups. At the genus level, Lactobacillus accounted for more than 70% of the total microbiome. Observed species (P = 0.021), Chao1 index (P = 0.020), and ACE index (P = 0.023) decreased significantly in L-PCOS. Principal component analysis showed no statistically significant differences among the subgroups. There were significant statistical differences in principal coordinate analysis in the Jaccard distance between the T-PCOS and T-control groups and between the L-PCOS and L-control groups. Linear discriminant analysis effect size found that Enterococcus and Actinomycetes were significantly different in the T-PCOS group. Atopobium and Actinomyces were statistically significantly different in patients with L-PCOS and N-PCOS group, respectively. Environmental factor analysis found that Ezakiella was significantly negatively correlated with age, while Streptococcus was significantly negatively correlated with follicle stimulating hormone. There were statistically significant differences between PCOS patients and healthy women in the vaginal microbiome, regardless of the abundance of Lactobacillus. Alpha diversity of vaginal microbiome decreased markedly in PCOS patients when it was dominated by Lactobacillus spp. Actinomyces could be a potential biomarker to identify PCOS. Streptococcus may have an impact on the pathological changes in PCOS by affecting the female reproductive endocrine environment.

An Additive to PMMA Bone Cement Enables Postimplantation Drug Refilling, Broadens Range of Compatible Antibiotics, and Prolongs Antimicrobial Therapy.

Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) bone cement is used in several biomedical applications including as antibiotic-filled beads, temporary skeletal spacers, and cement for orthopedic implant fixation. To mitigate infection following surgery, antibiotics are often mixed into bone cement to achieve local delivery. However, since implanted cement is often structural, incorporated antibiotics must not compromise mechanical properties; this limits the selection of compatible antibiotics. Furthermore, antibiotics cannot be added to resolve future infections once cement is implanted. Finally, delivery from cement is suboptimal as incorporated antibiotics exhibit early burst release with most of the drug remaining permanently trapped. This prolonged subtherapeutic dosage drives pathogen antibiotic resistance. To overcome these limitations of antibiotic-laden bone cement, insoluble cyclodextrin (CD) microparticles are incorporated into PMMA to provide more sustained delivery of a broader range of drugs, without impacting mechanics. PMMA formulations with and without CD microparticles are synthesized and filled with one of three antibiotics and evaluated using zone of inhibition, drug release, and compression studies. Additionally, the ability of PMMA with microparticles to serve as a refillable antibiotic delivery depot is explored. Findings suggest that addition of CD microparticles to cement promotes postimplantation antibiotic refilling and enables incorporation of previously incompatible antibiotics while preserving favorable mechanical properties.