The coating -- a fiber finish called glycerol monolaurate -- significantly reduced (P<0.03) one of the toxins that cause toxic shock syndrome, according to Pat Schlievert, Ph.D., of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.
The compound also tended to reduce levels of interleukin-8 -- used as a marker of inflammation -- among women using the coated tampons who harbored Staphylococcus aureus, although the trend did not reach statistical significance, Dr. Schlievert said at the Interscience Conference on Anti-microbial Agents and Chemotherapy.
Dr. Schlievert said the coating was not ready for commercial use yet, noting that Johnson & Johnson, which is developing the product, was "moving forward."
In the study, researchers compared the presence of S. aureus, as well as one of the toxins associated with toxic shock, in the tampons of 225 menstruating women.
First the women used their own tampons, and then used a study tampon, which might or might not have the glycerol monolaurate finish. The researchers were blinded to the tampon composition.
Dr. Schlievert and colleagues found:
- Of the 225 participants, 41 had S. aureus colonies on their tampons.
- The level of S. aureus and alpha-toxin was significantly higher on the women's own tampons than on the study tampons.
- The number of colony-forming units of the bacteria was the same on study tampons, whether or not they were coated.
- Alpha-toxin was significantly lower on the study's coated tampons (P<0.03) than on the non-coated study tampons.
There was no significant difference in interleukin-8 levels among women with S. aureus, regardless of whether they used a coated or uncoated study tampon, they said.
On the other hand, if women did not have S. aureus, they had significantly less interleukin-8 if they used a coated tampon (P=0.005), the researchers found.
The idea for the study grew out of the observation that glycerol monolaurate, which is widely used as an emulsifier in cosmetics and food, inhibits the production of toxic shock-associated toxins in the test tube.
From that observation, researchers hypothesized that coating tampons with the compound would prevent the toxins from being made, even if a woman was harboring the bacteria, Dr. Schlievert said.
The notion was a clever one, said Scott Hammer, M.D., of Columbia University and chair of the conference's program committee. Dr. Hammer was not involved in the tampon study.
"What they've done is use bioengineering to interact with the molecular mechanism of a disease-causing bacterium, thereby cutting down on the risk of a potentially fatal infectious disease," Dr. Hammer told reporters.
|The study was sponsored by Johnson & Johnson, of Bridgewater, N.J. Dr. Schlievert made no additional report of conflicts.|
- Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD Emeritus Professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Interscience Conference on Anti-microbial Agents and ChemotherapySource Reference: Schlievert P. M. et al "Staphylococcus aureus Exotoxin Production In Vivo is Reduced by Glycerol Monolaurate (GML) Tampons" Presentation L-616.