A review of the available clinical therapies for vulvodynia management and new data implicating proinflammatory mediators in pain elicitation.
Localised provoked vulvodynia (LPV) is a common, chronic, and disabling condition: patients experience profound pain and a diminished quality of life. The aetiologic origins of vulvodynia are poorly understood, yet recent evidence suggests a link to site-specific inflammatory responses. Fibroblasts isolated from the vestibule of LPV patients are sensitive to proinflammatory stimuli and copiously produce pain-associated proinflammatory mediators (IL-6 and PGE2). Although LPV is a multifactorial disorder, understanding vulvar inflammation and targeting the inflammatory response should lead to treatment advances, especially for patients exhibiting signs of inflammation. NFκB (already targeted clinically) or other inflammatory components may be suitable therapeutic targets.



Vulvodynia is a poorly understood, prevalent, and serious women's health issue requiring better understanding to improve therapy.
Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA.
M L
ML
Falsetta
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA.
D C
DC
Foster
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA.
A D
AD
Bonham
Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA.|Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA.|Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA.
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RP
Phipps
D000328:Adult; D015232:Dinoprostone / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000378:metabolism*; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000378:metabolism; D056650:Vulvodynia / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism*
C508600:IL6 protein, human; D018836:Inflammation Mediators; D015850:Interleukin-6; D015232:Dinoprostone

PGE
2
; Dectin-1; IL-6; NFκB; fibroblast; inflammation; vestibulitis; vulvar pain; vulvodynia