CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 67Reproductive tract infections researchProbiotics and Fermented FoodsHIV/AIDS Research and Interventions

Probiotics: potential to prevent HIV and sexually transmitted infections in women

Bolton, Michael, van der Straten, Ariane, Cohen, Craig R.·2008·Sexually Transmitted Diseases
DOI 10.1097/olq.0b013e31815b017a
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

Women are at significant risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and sexually transmitted infection (STI) acquisition with the genital mucosa serving as the main portal of infection. Exogenously supplied lactobacillus used as a probiotic may prove a cost-effective, female-initiated method to prevent HIV and STI infection in women. A probiotic may act indirectly through treating and preventing recurrent bacterial vaginosis or directly by secreting endogenous (e.g., hydrogen peroxide) and exogenous substances that block HIV and STI transmission. This review summarizes the preclinical and clinical studies that have been conducted so far to test probiotic bacteria for these purposes. Although significant progress has been made in this field, more fundamental research is required to better understand vaginal ecology to maximize probiotic formulations. Once identified, a suitable product will require testing in a well-designed, randomized, placebo-controlled trial to measure its effectiveness in augmenting antibiotic treatment to prevent bacterial vaginosis. If results from such a trial demonstrate efficacy, future studies should be designed to determine whether a probiotic can significantly lower the risk for HIV and STIs in at-risk female populations.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1097/olq.0b013e31815b017a

Cites

182 of 182 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • BV is associated with an increased risk of HIV infection in women, possibly by as much as 60%, and increased HIV shedding.

    “BV is associated with an increased risk of HIV infection in women, possibly by as much as 60% (Atashili et al., 2008), and increased HIV shedding (Bolton et al., 2008), therefore BV treatment may help to reduce HIV transmission by various means.”

    From Viral Infections, the Microbiome, and Probiotics (2021) · cites this paper as Bolton et al., 2008

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Bolton, M., van der Straten, A., & Cohen, C. R.
Affiliations
  • Emory University (US)
  • University of California, San Francisco (US)
Corresponding author
Bolton, Michael
ORCID
Cohen, Craig R.
Venue
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Publisher
Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Published
2008-03
Volume
35
Issue
3
Pages
214-225
ISSN
0148-5717 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1097/olq.0b013e31815b017a
OpenAlex
W1965696940
Cited by
67
References
182
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 7
FWCI
0.70
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Sexually Transmitted Diseases (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Microbiology › Reproductive tract infections research
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Probiotics and Fermented Foods
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions
Keywords
probiotics, HIV prevention, sexually transmitted infections, women, Lactobacillus, bacterial vaginosis, vaginal microbiota, genital mucosa, hydrogen peroxide
MeSH terms
Administration, Intravaginal, Administration, Oral, Female, Humans, Lactobacillus, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, HIV Infections, Women's Health, Vaginosis, Bacterial, Probiotics

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review