The reasons for vulvar atrophy are actually these four points

Female vulva atrophy is a very common phenomenon for middle-aged and elderly women, but what exactly causes female vulva atrophy? Most people don't quite understand this. In fact, there are four causes of female vulvar atrophy. The first cause is related to ovarian dysfunction and decreased estrogen levels.

1. Causes

The causes of vulvar skin atrophy are as follows:

1. Primary vulvar atrophy In postmenopausal elderly women, ovarian function declines, estrogen levels decrease, and their target organs also atrophy.

2. White lesions of the vulva are also called chronic vulvar dystrophy. It is divided into hyperplastic type, lichen sclerosus type and mixed type. Among them, after a long period of time, the inflammatory lesions cause the elastic tissue of the dermis to disappear and become fibrotic, resulting in atrophy of the clitoris and labia minora.

3. Lichen planus is caused by chronic irritation such as leucorrhea and scratching, and is often complicated by severe atrophic changes.

4. Vulvar leukoplakia is a proliferative change of the vulvar mucosa, and 10% to 20% of them will undergo malignant transformation. It may be caused by long-term stimulation such as trauma, inflammation, allergy, infection, etc., and may eventually lead to vulvar atrophy.

Pathogenesis

1. Primary vulvar atrophy causes the epidermis to become thinner and the stratum corneum to become thinner. The dermis has hyaline changes. Subcutaneous elastic fibers are reduced.

2. The pathological characteristics of lichen sclerosus malnutrition are excessive keratinization of the epidermis and even the appearance of keratin plugs, atrophy and thinning of the epidermis accompanied by liquefaction and degeneration of basal cells, and a decrease in melanocytes. The superficial dermis is edematous, the collagen fiber structure is lost and the dermis becomes homogenous, and there is a lymphocyte infiltration zone in the middle dermis.

3. Lichen planus has hyperplasia of the granular layer, with excessive keratinization and acanthosis. There are band-like inflammatory infiltrations in the superficial dermis, which invade the epidermis. The basement membrane often undergoes liquefaction and degeneration, and epithelial cell degeneration may form a colloid.

4. In the hypertrophic stage of vulvar leukoplakia, the epithelium thickens and keratinizes, the nipples hypertrophy and often sink into the connective tissue. During the atrophic stage, chronic inflammatory changes are significant, with varying degrees of edema and almost complete disappearance of the elastic fibers under the epithelium. There is no clear boundary between the hypertrophic and atrophic phases; the epithelium may be significantly thickened in one area and very thin in another.

III. Degree Grading

Some people suggest that vulvar leukoplakia be divided into three grades according to the degree of epithelial cell hyperplasia and anaplasia:

Grade I: The epithelial prickle cells thicken and the nipples sink into the connective tissue, but no atypical changes are observed in the cells.

Grade II: Atypical cells appear with scattered nuclear divisions and epithelial beads formed.

Grade III: The cells are anaplastic, inconsistent in size, have nuclear divisions, and have changes similar to carcinoma in situ.