Comparison of Hyaluronic Acid with Vitamin E Vaginal Pessaries on Maturation of Vaginal Epithelium in Postmenopausal Women

Following hot flashes, the second, most common and bothersome menopausal complaint is vaginal atrophy. This symptoms causes vaginal or vulvar dryness, dyspareunia, vaginismus or itching that can significantly affect quality of life. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of vaginal perssaried containing sodium hyaloronate or vitamin E for the treatment of atrophic vaginitis.Subjects and This randomized, double-blind clinical trial study was carried out at 17 Shahrivar health center (an educational center in Ahvaz, Iran) from August to December 2010. Forty postmenopausal women with symptoms of vaginal atrophy were randomized in two groups to administer vaginal perssaries of 5 mg sodium hyaloronate (n=20) or 1mg vitamin E (n=20) for 8 weeks. Vaginal maturation was measured and compared in both groups. The data were analyzed using independent t-test and Paired t test, in SPSS version 16.0. P-values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. The results showed that the vaginal maturation values were significantly improved at both treatment groups (P<0.001). However, the mean maturation value in sodium hyaluronate group was significantly higher when compared with vitamin E group (P<0.001). Sodium hyaluronate and vitamin E increased maturation of vaginal epithelium, but improvement was greater in sodium hyaluronate group. Therefore, sodium hyaluronate vaginal pessary is suggested as an ulternative in women who do not want to or cannot use estrogen treatment of vaginal atrophy.