Gynecologic Health and Disease Research at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development: A Scientific Vision

Chronic conditions in women: the development of a National Institutes of health framework

Rising rates of chronic conditions were cited as one of the key public health concerns in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 U.S. Senate and House of Representatives appropriations bills, where a review of current National Institutes of Health (NIH) portfolios relevant to research on women's health was requested. Chronic conditions were last defined by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in 2010. However, existing definitions of chronic conditions do not incorporate sex or gender considerations. Sex and gender influence health, yet significant knowledge gaps exist in the evidence-base for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of chronic diseases amongst women. The presentation, prevalence, and long-term effects of chronic conditions and multimorbidity differs in women from men. A clinical framework was developed to adequately assess the NIH investment in research related to chronic conditions in women. The public health needs and NIH investment related to conditions included in the framework were measured. By available measures, research within the NIH has not mapped to the burden of chronic conditions among women. Clinical research questions and endpoints centered around women can be developed and implemented; clinical trials networks with expanded or extended eligibility criteria can be created; and data science could be used to extrapolate the effects of overlapping or multiple morbidities on the health of women. Aligning NIH research priorities to address the specific needs of women with chronic diseases is critical to addressing women's health needs from a life course perspective.

Menstrual Health as a Part of Preventive Health Care

Menstrual health assessment facilitates identification of pathologic conditions (eg, abnormal uterine bleeding, endometriosis), offers the opportunity to educate women on what menstrual symptoms may be normal or abnormal, and provides the opportunity to initiate treatment for women who are suffering because of problems with menstrual bleeding or associated symptoms. Heavy bleeding, pain, fatigue, and mood changes significantly affect a woman's physical, social, and emotional quality of life. Promptly identifying and treating these disorders by incorporating their assessment into routine well-woman care has the potential to positively affect the lives of a substantial number of women.

Electrical Stimulation Activates Fibroblasts through the Elevation of Intracellular Free Ca2+: Potential Mechanism of Pelvic Electrical Stimulation Therapy

Ca²⁺ is an important ion in response to electrical stimulation (ES) and acts as second messenger in the regulation of various physiological processes. Pelvic floor electrical stimulation (PES) is a low-voltage clinical application, available for urinary incontinence (UI) treatment. Fibroblasts, as the main cellular component of vaginal wall and pelvic ligament, play an important role in the maintenance of pelvic health. We studied the effect of ES on fibroblasts in this study. ES was conducted with electrotaxis chambers on L929 fibroblast and the ES parameter was 100 mV/mm×2h. The results showed that ES increased intracellular Ca²⁺ concentration, promoted the expression of PCNA, CyclinB1, and CyclinD1, and increased the proportion of cells in S and G2 phages. After ES, fibroblasts get activated and proliferated. Besides, BAPTA-AM, a membrane permeated chelator for intracellular free Ca²⁺, partially inhibited the effect of ES on fibroblasts activation and proliferation promotion. Furthermore, we elucidated that Ca²⁺, as a second messenger and upstream signal for Smads and Akt signaling, regulated ES-induced nuclear translocation of smad2/3, phosphorylation of smad2/3, Akt, and GSK3β. Finally, we validated the effect of ES on PES mouse model. The results indicated that PES promoted the activation and proliferation of fibroblasts in vivo. In conclusion, we verify that ES can elevate the concentration of intracellular Ca²⁺ and activate its downstream signaling and then promote the activation of fibroblasts, which may be one of the mechanisms of PES therapy.

Pelvic Pain and Apical Prolapse Surgery: A Population-Based Retrospective Cohort Study

OBJECTIVES

The aims of this study were to evaluate the association of preoperative pelvic pain with operative characteristics and the association of patient and operative characteristics with postoperative pain.

METHODS

This is a retrospective cohort study utilizing Clinformatics DataMart, a large national commercial insurance database. We collected data for patients older than 18 years who underwent apical prolapse surgery between January 2005 and December 2014. We stratified data by preoperative (prior) pain and analyzed for associations of prior and postoperative pain. Logistic regression analysis was performed using SAS software.

RESULTS

A total of 14,440 patients met inclusion criteria and were analyzed. Patients with prior pain were more likely to have an abdominal (open or laparoscopic) approach, a concomitant hysterectomy, but less likely to have additional repairs or a mesh insertion (P < 0.001). Postoperative pain was less with a concomitant hysterectomy, whether they had prior pain (odds ratio [OR], 0.56; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.41-0.77) or not (OR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.56-0.82). Additional vaginal repairs were associated with more postoperative pain for those without prior pain (OR, 1.63; 95% CI, 1.3-2.04). Age older than 45 years was associated with less pain. Length of hospital stay of more than 2 days was associated with more pain.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with prior pain were more likely to undergo an abdominal approach and have a concomitant hysterectomy. Postoperative pain was less with a concomitant hysterectomy, but more with additional vaginal repairs. There is a need to include pain as an outcome in future studies, particularly clinical trials.