Intravaginally applied oxytocin improves post-menopausal vaginal atrophy

OBJECTIVE: To explore the efficacy of local oxytocin for the treatment of post-menopausal vaginal atrophy. DESIGN: Double-blinded randomised controlled trial. SETTING: Healthy post-menopausal women in Stockholm, Sweden. PARTICIPANTS: Sixty four post-menopausal women between February and June 2012 at the Karolinska University Hospital Huddinge/Sweden. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The efficacy of oxytocin for treatment of vaginal atrophy after seven weeks and cytological evaluation. RESULTS: The percentage of superficial cells in the vaginal smears and the maturation values were significantly increased after seven weeks of treatment with vagitocin 400 IU (p = 0.0288 and p = 0.0002, respectively). The vaginal pH decreased significantly after seven weeks of treatment with vagitocin 100 IU (p = 0.02). The scores of vaginal atrophy, according to the histological evaluation, were significantly reduced after administration of vagitocin 100 IU (p = 0.03). The thickness of the endometrium did not differ between the treatment and placebo groups after seven weeks of treatment. The symptom experienced as the most bothersome was significantly reduced after seven weeks of treatment in the women receiving vagitocin 400 IU compared to women in the placebo group (p = 0.0089). CONCLUSIONS: Treatment with intravaginally applied oxytocin could be an alternative to local estrogen treatment in women with post-menopausal vaginal atrophy.