Vaginal platelet-rich plasma injection boosts sexual function in premenopausal women

Administering platelet-rich plasma injections to the anterior vaginal wall helps improve sexual function in sexually active premenopausal women without severe sexual dysfunction, according to a pilot, single-centre study.

A total of 52 participants were randomly assigned to receive a single injection of platelet-rich plasma (n=26) or saline (control, n=26) into the distal anterior vaginal wall. All participants were followed up for 6 months.

The primary outcome was change in sexual function, assessed using the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) at 6 weeks.

The change in median total FSFI score from baseline was significantly greater in the platelet-rich plasma group than in the control group both at 6 weeks (2.2 points, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.6–4.8 vs 0.3 points, 95 percent CI, −1.7 to 2.3; p=0.05) and at 6 months (1.6 points, 95 percent CI, −0.2 to 4.1 vs 0.8 points, 95 percent CI, −1.1 to 2.7; p=0.05).

At 6 weeks, participants who received the platelet-rich plasma injection showed improvements in the following FSFI subscales: desire (0.6 points, 95 percent CI, 0.1–1.1), arousal (0.8 points, 95 percent CI, 0.2–1.2), lubrication (0.7 points, 95 percent CI, 0.2–1.2), and orgasm (1.0 points, 95 percent CI, 0.1–1.5). However, these changes did not significantly differ from those observed in the control group.

The percentage of participants reporting improved sexual function based on the Patient Global Impression of Improvement scale was greater in the platelet-rich plasma group than in the control group both at 6 weeks (69.2 percent vs 42.3 percent; p=0.05) and at 6 months (69.2 percent vs 34.6 percent; p=0.01).

None of the participants experienced serious adverse events.