Prof. Eran Elinav’s team, in collaboration with Hadassah Hospital, has developed an innovative therapeutic approach to treat bacterial vaginosis (BV) using vaginal microbiome transplants (VMT) from healthy donors. This method addresses the high relapse rates associated with traditional antibiotic treatments and offers a promising alternative for women with recurrent or persistent BV.
- Treatment of Bacterial Vaginosis: Provides a non-antibiotic solution for BV, potentially reducing symptoms and recurrence rates.
- Screening for Viable Donors: Establishes criteria for identifying healthy vaginal microbiome compositions.
- High Efficacy: Initial clinical studies show high remission rates, with four out of five women achieving symptom-free remission.
- Low Potential Risk of Side Effects: No adverse effects reported in preliminary clinical studies.
- Non-Antibiotic-Based: Minimizing the risk of antibiotic resistance and secondary infections.
The current results include clinical results in a cohort of five women with BV, who were tracked for 5-21 months following VMT. Four out of five women showed remission of BV with no symptoms, with the fifth showing incomplete remission. None of the five women showed any adverse effects from the VMT. Clinical follow up trials are already underway to determine wider applicability.
Figure 1: Procedure for vaginal microbiome transplantation whereby determining potential donors involves screening and collection, followed by transplantation and persistent monitoring for months afterward.
