Due to increasing life expectancy, women today spend a third of their lives after menopause. The hormonal changes that cause the menopause are often associated with considerable symptoms. One of the most common is genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM) or vulvovaginal atrophy (VVA). Symptoms include vaginal burning, vaginal itching, vaginal dryness, dyspareunia and dysuria.

The usually promising treatment with oestrogen preparations is not always applicable. This applies to former cancer patients, for example, but also to women who generally reject hormone treatments. Laser treatment with the Leonardo Dual Diode Laser from biolitec is an energy-based and gentle outpatient alternative. This is shown by new study results from the gynaecology departments of the IRCC San Gerardo dei Tintori of the University of Milan-Bicocca and the ASST Lecco of the Manzoni Hospital in Lecco.

The study is the first on the effectiveness of a pure diode vaginal laser in the treatment of GSM. Outpatient non-ablative diode laser treatment was investigated in 26 sexually active GSM patients over the age of 18 who either could not tolerate local estrogen therapy, did not respond to it or refused it for other reasons. All patients were either menopausal or being treated with gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH).