الفهرس 
Physiology of the VaginaOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
T
he use of ozone (O3) gas as a therapy in alternative medicine has attracted skepticism due to its unstable molecular structure. However, copious volumes of research have provided evidence that O3’s dynamic resonance structures facilitate physiological interactions useful in treating a myriad of pathologies. Specifically, O3 therapy induces moderate oxidative stress when interacting with lipids.
This interaction increases endogenous production of antioxidants, local perfusion, and oxygen delivery, as well as enhances immune responses. We have conducted a comprehensive review of O3 therapy, investigating its contraindications, routes and concentrations of administration, mechanisms of action, disinfectant properties in various microorganisms, and its medicinal use in different pathologies.
With its ever-growing ubiquity, O3 therapy is finding a place in many branches of medicine and medical specialties. In fact, its clinical use can be arranged systematically into cardiovascular, subcutaneous tissue, peripheral vascular disease, neurological, head and neck, orthopedic, gastrointestinal, and genitourinary. These indications are a product of human clinical trials conducted for specific pathologies related to the aforementioned systems. Despite a lack of direct support of O3 therapy, the current Food and Drug Administration regulations do not restrict the use of it in situations where it has proven its safety and effectiveness. Nonetheless, there has been support for its safety and effectiveness in multi-international studies.
The current study was conducted at Ain Shams University Maternity Hospital as a randomized - controlled study and included 50 women with recurrent vulvo-vaginitis, recruited from the outpatient gynecology clinic of Ain shams University Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, who were attending for outpatient consultation. Subjects were assigned randomly into two groups, group (A) 25 subjects, who were treated with traditional, combined, topical and systemic antifungal therapy, and (b) group (B): 25 subjects, who were treated by vaginal ozone insufflations. In both groups, the patients’ partners received oral antifungal treatment. Vaginal insufflations were performed by insufflations of ozone/ oxygen gas mix into the female reproductive system with the help of a catheter. They were performed in a continuous fashion, via attaching a catheter to the ozone output hose and allowing the ozone/oxygen gas mix to flow-in for the desired amount of time.
As regards the comparison between the two studied groups regarding the total number of subjects with persistence of subjective clinical symptoms and positive culture (after either treatment or recurrence) a statistical difference was found between both groups.
Twenty-two (88%) patients in the vaginal ozone group had clinical cure compared with only 14 (56%) patients in the traditional treatment group. This difference was statistically significant.
Likewise, the microbiological cure rate was significantly higher in the vaginal ozone group compared with the traditional treatment group.
Five out of 14 patients (35.7%) in the traditional treatment group suffered clinical recurrence compared with only 1 out of 22 patients (4.5%) in the vaginal ozone group. This difference was statistically significant.
Likewise, the microbiological recurrence rate was significantly lower in the vaginal ozone group compared with the traditional treatment group.
Conclusions
O
zone therapy has proven to be effective in treatment of the recurrent vulvovaginitis, where the persistence of clinical symptoms and positive culture exudates were measured.
O3 therapy can alter the natural history of several disease and disorders, with potentially many more yet untested. A plethora of laboratory studies have provided evidence of O3’s antioxidant capabilities, as well as vascular, hematological, and immune system modulations. This evidence has been further substantiated in clinical trials with O3 therapy being useful in the cardiovascular, subcutaneous tissue, peripheral vascular disease, neurological, head and neck, orthopedic, gastrointestinal, and genitourinary pathologies. O3 therapy has proven especially beneficial in the diabetic foot, ischemic wounds, and peripheral vascular disease, areas in which O3 use is most prevalent. Upcoming laboratory and translational research should begin to develop protocols for O3-AHT in attempts to establish a dose-response relationship as it has demonstrated high utility in a myriad of pathologies at varying concentrations. Despite the presently compelling evidence, future studies should include more double-blind, randomized clinical trials with greater sample sizes, determination of longevity in benefits produced, as well as methods of measurements and analysis.
Recommendations
• Ozone can be used as an effective treatment in cases of vulvovaginitis especially recurrent cases
• Ozone therapy is still juvenile and needs further investigations in other fields of infection treatment
• Moreover, more studies including much population number of subjects are needed to determine the frequency of treatment and the duration
• Vaginal ozone insufflations can be considered as a cost-effective treatment in cases of vulvovagini