Papers of the Week

Vulvodynia (idiopathic vulvar pain) affects up to 8% of women by age 40, has a poorly understood etiology, and variable treatment efficacy. Several risk factors are associated with vulvodynia from history of yeast infections to depression and allergies. Recent work suggests an altered immune inflammatory mechanism plays a role in vulvodynia pathophysiology. As the vaginal microbiome plays an important role in local immune-inflammatory responses, we evaluated the vaginal microbiome among women with vulvodynia compared to controls as one component of the immune system.