Wellness
Common fatty acid may help restore healthy vaginal bacteria after infection
More than half of women globally experience bacterial vaginosis (BV) — an imbalance of naturally occurring microbes in the female genital tract — at least once in their life.
The condition can cause painful symptoms and vaginal discharge, and although treatable with antibiotics, it frequently comes back within a short time. If left untreated, BV can lead to problems with pregnancy and an increased risk of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
A team of researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard; the Ragon Institute of Mass General Brigham, MIT, and Harvard; and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have discovered that oleic acid, one of the most abundant fatty acids in the body, restores a healthy balance of vaginal microbes in a laboratory model of BV.
Their findings, published in Cell, demonstrate that oleic acid and several other unsaturated long-chain fatty acids (uLCFAs), which are critical components of cell membranes and can have antimicrobial properties, simultaneously inhibit the growth of vaginal microbes associated with negative health effects and promote other species associated with a healthier female genital tract.
Treatments that promote this balance of microbes could one day help prevent repeat vaginal infections in people.
“Current treatment methods work as well as a coinflip, and that hasn’t changed in more than 40 years of medical practice, so new methods are needed to help patients” said first author Meilin Zhu, who recently graduated with a PhD from the labs of Paul Blainey, a Broad core institute member and MIT professor, and Doug Kwon, a core member of the Ragon Institute, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and an infectious disease physician at the Massachusetts General Hospital, both co-senior authors on the paper.
“I’m so proud of this team and the partnership we formed to follow the science and set up some major positive impacts on women’s health,” Blainey said.
“This is an amazing story of keen observation, serendipitous discovery, and the hard work that real scientific rigour demands.”
Metabolic differences
The human female genital tract is naturally colonized by microbial species in the Lactobacillus genus. Treating BV with antibiotics can shift the balance of lactobacilli toward an overabundance of Lactobacillus iners, a bacterial species that creates an environment that is more susceptible to BV recurrence.
Zhu sought methods of promoting Lactobacillus crispatus, a species that creates a more stable microbiome than L. iners. She planned to use a large-scale screen developed in the Blainey lab to study the impacts of different compounds on the bacteria.
But Zhu discovered an important clue even before she began the screening. A component of the culture medium used to grow lactobacilli in the lab was disrupting the screening tool, but the bacteria would not grow in culture without it.
While troubleshooting the issue, Zhu found that many of the lactobacilli required an ingredient in the medium — oleic acid — to thrive. When she cultured different strains of lactobacilli with oleic acid, she found that oleic acid inhibited growth of L. iners, the detrimental bacteria, and simultaneously promoted the growth of strains associated with healthier microbiota such as L. crispatus.
Using RNA sequencing and working with the Broad’s Metabolomics Platform and collaborators at St. Jude’s, the team identified a group of genes involved in processing uLCFAs that are present only in the non-Lactobacillus iners species.
One of these genes encodes the enzyme oleate hydratase, which sequesters uLCFAs, a scarce resource, into a form only bacteria with this enzyme can use. Another of the genes encodes a fatty acid efflux pump that is necessary for bacteria to withstand high concentrations of oleic acid.
“We used state-of-the-art genetics tools that a lot of researchers in vaginal microbiology haven’t had access to, even though they’re the gold standard for any mechanistic study,” Zhu said.
“It’s a good step forward for the field.”
She added that the field of vaginal microbiology does not receive the same resources as other areas of microbiology.
The team also modeled how oleic acid might affect the vaginal microbiome of BV patients by culturing bacteria associated with BV together with L. iners and L. crispatus. Oleic acid effectively inhibited growth of L. iners as well as most BV-associated bacteria, including some strains resistant to standard antibiotic treatment.
This indicates oleic acid may be an effective way to restore a stable, healthy microbiome in the female genital tract after BV.
“This study is an important example of how understanding core metabolic requirements and functions of key bacteria can lead directly to new therapies that allow us to modify the microbiome for improved health,” said co-senior author Seth Bloom, an infectious diseases instructor at the Massachusetts General Hospital.
At the Ragon Institute, Kwon’s lab is working to move this research toward a human clinical trial.
“We believe there is exciting potential to translate these findings to durably alter the vaginal microbiome to improve BV treatment and reduce adverse health outcomes for women globally,” Kwon said.
WUKA has announced a groundbreaking partnership with the Royal Yachting Association (RYA), including RYA Scotland and RYA Northern Ireland, supporting women and girls in sailing.
Building on WUKA’s growing #TackleAnything campaign – which has already reached thousands of girls across sports in the UK – this collaboration brings practical period solutions into sailing.
Together, WUKA and the RYA are committed to breaking down barriers so periods never limit confidence, participation, or performance on the water.
Ruby Raut, WUKA founder & CEO, said: “Partnering with the RYA has been incredibly important for us at WUKA.
“Sailing is an amazing way for women and girls to build confidence, and periods shouldn’t hold anyone back from enjoying the water or reaching their full potential.
“Through this partnership and our #TackleAnything campaign, we’re proud to provide practical solutions and innovative products that help female sailors feel comfortable, confident, and free to focus on learning, performing, and having fun.
“Breaking down barriers and supporting women to tackle anything — on land, at sea, and everywhere in between – has never felt more meaningful.”
WUKA, which stands for Wake-Up Kick Ass, shares the RYA’s commitment to inclusivity and empowerment.
In 2023, WUKA launched #TackleAnything, a campaign supporting women, girls and sportspeople with periods. Since its launch, the initiative has reached 3,576 girls across 46 clubs and partnered with a range of sports across the UK – from Scottish Gymnastics to Titans wheelchair basketball – helping young athletes play without limits and stay confident, comfortable, and in the game.
The brand offers period-friendly aquatic apparel and practical solutions that help women train and compete with freedom of movement and total assurance.
Through this partnership, WUKA will provide innovative period swimwear for young sailors across key RYA programmes, including the NI Sailing Team, the RYA Scotland Performance Pathway Programme, and the British Sailing Pathways Talent Academies.
By combining WUKA’s mission to challenge stigma with the RYA’s commitment to inclusion, the partnership ensures young sailors can focus on what matters most – learning, performing, and enjoying their time on the water – with confidence and comfort. RYA members will also receive a 10 per cent discount on WUKA products.
Sailing offers incredible benefits for women and girls, but time on the water can present unique challenges -particularly during menstruation.
Together, WUKA and the RYA are providing practical solutions that remove these barriers, helping young sailors participate fully and confidently in the sport.
Sara Sutcliffe, RYA CEO, said: “At the RYA, we have been making strides to break down barriers for women of all ages to help ensure they can experience the water in a supportive and positive environment.
“From education workshops and practical sessions, we want to make sure our female sailors are empowered and this partnership is another great example of how we can demonstrate possible tools to equip them to succeed”.
This partnership is part of the RYA’s wider commitment to making sailing a sport where women and girls can thrive. Alongside initiatives such as the Female Futures Group, the Women’s Race Officials Programme and all new Talent Academy Female Future’s Camps; it demonstrates a continued focus on removing barriers and creating meaningful opportunities across every stage of the sailing.
WUKA’s involvement ensures that practical solutions are available on the water, from innovative period swimwear to support resources, helping young sailors feel fully equipped and confident during training and competition.
By integrating these tools into RYA programmes, WUKA brings a new level of comfort and assurance to female athletes, allowing them to focus entirely on performance, enjoyment, and growth in the sport.
For any women and girls looking to learn more about sailing, visit www.rya.org.uk.
For more information on WUKA visit www.wuka.co.uk.
London’s shifting population is holding down breast screening uptake, experts have said, with the capital at 62.8 per cent in 2024, below the NHS’s acceptable 70 per cent threshold.
The London Assembly Health Committee recently heard that the capital faces distinct challenges compared with the rest of the country and that these issues must be addressed.
Josephine Ruwende, a cancer screening lead at NHS England, said frequent moves within the rented sector and the cost-of-living crisis pushing people out of London had made it difficult to reach eligible patients, which she described as “population churn”.
She said: “This is people changing addresses and then not updating their GP, this then affects the invitation process because GP details are used to identify individuals who are eligible.
“In boroughs where we have the highest population churn, we see it strongly associated with lower uptake.”
She noted that even in the wealthiest boroughs there can be high levels of movement, with around 40 per cent of residents changing address within a year.
Such areas also tend to have more people who own second homes or spend long periods abroad, making it harder for the NHS to keep contact details up to date.
As a result, screening invitations may be sent to out-of-date addresses or to people who are overseas.
Leeane Graham, advocacy lead at Black Women Rising, which supports women of colour with a cancer diagnosis, said there were cultural barriers, fear and a mistrust of the health service due to previous experience within communities.
She said: “If you’ve never been for a breast screening before, the thought of having a mammogram can be really, really terrifying.”
Helen Dickens, from Breast Cancer Now, said other reasons included a lack of understanding of breast screening, along with concerns about discomfort, trust and practical issues such as travel.
She said: “We have amazing public transport and we feel that we’ve got great accessibility, but we also know that we don’t have screening centres in every borough.
“We know that for some women that barrier of transport and access will still be a really big reason why they’re not attending screenings.”
NHS London launched its first screening campaign last year in response to the figures, aiming to increase detection at an earlier stage.
Following a Mediterranean diet is linked to a lower risk of stroke in women, a large cohort study suggests.
Women with the highest adherence were 18 per cent less likely to experience any stroke, including a 16 per cent lower risk of ischaemic stroke and a 25 per cent lower risk of haemorrhagic stroke.
Ischaemic stroke happens when blood flow to part of the brain is blocked. Haemorrhagic stroke is caused by bleeding in the brain.
Study author Sophia Wang of City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center said: “Our findings support the mounting evidence that a healthy diet is critical to stroke prevention.
“We were especially interested to see that this finding applies to haemorrhagic stroke, as few large studies have looked at this type of stroke.”
The study involved 105,614 women, average age 53 at the start, with no history of stroke.
Participants completed a diet questionnaire and received a score from zero to nine based on adherence.
Researchers at City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center in Duarte, California followed participants for an average of 21 years.
During that time, 4,083 strokes occurred, including 3,358 ischaemic and 725 haemorrhagic events.
The Mediterranean pattern features high intake of vegetables, legumes, fruits, fish and healthy fats such as olive oil, and a lower intake of dairy products, red meat and saturated fats.
After adjusting for smoking, physical activity and high blood pressure, those in the highest adherence group were 18 per cent less likely to have a stroke than those in the lowest group.
They were 16 per cent less likely to have an ischaemic stroke and 25 per cent less likely to have a haemorrhagic stroke.
Wang said: “Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability, so it’s exciting to think that improving our diets could lessen our risk for this devastating diseas.
“Further studies are needed to confirm these findings and to help us understand the mechanisms behind them so we could identify new ways to prevent stroke.”
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