Lena Merjanian studies various aspects of women's reproductive health, including the treatment of vaginal yeast infections, particularly those that are recurrent or resistant to conventional therapies. She is involved in research related to high-risk strains of HPV that affect young girls, especially in the context of trauma and abuse. Additionally, she examines practical approaches for healthcare providers to deliver effective contraception counseling, especially for midlife women. Her work aims to ensure that women receive the best and safest options available based on their individual needs.
Key findings
Ibrexafungerp, a new antifungal pill, is effective for vaginal yeast infections, outperforming fluconazole in clinical trials and serving as the only FDA-approved option for women with recurrent infections.
A comprehensive clinical pathway can help healthcare providers offer better contraception counseling to midlife women, addressing their often-overlooked needs as fertility declines.
The study on a 6-year-old survivor of sexual abuse demonstrated a need for watchful waiting and HPV vaccination in cases of high-risk HPV, rather than aggressive treatment, due to potential harm.
The research on Down syndrome screening in IVF twins indicated that applying mathematical corrections to standard blood tests improved the accuracy of screening compared to singleton pregnancies.
Frequently asked questions
Does Dr. Merjanian study yeast infections?
Yes, she focuses on the treatment of vaginal yeast infections and has researched a new antifungal medication called Ibrexafungerp.
What treatments has Dr. Merjanian researched for HPV?
She has explored the management of high-risk HPV infections in young survivors of sexual abuse, recommending vaccination and careful monitoring.
Is Dr. Merjanian's work relevant to women in midlife?
Absolutely, her research includes developing clinical pathways for providing effective contraception counseling specifically tailored for midlife women.
What is Dr. Merjanian's approach to Down syndrome screening?
She has researched the necessary corrections for blood test results in twin pregnancies conceived through IVF to improve the reliability of Down syndrome screening.
Publications in plain English
Ibrexafungerp for the Treatment of Vulvovaginal Candidiasis: Design, Development and Place in Therapy.
2023
Drug design, development and therapy
Phillips NA, Rocktashel M, Merjanian L
Plain English Ibrexafungerp is a new antifungal pill approved by the FDA in 2021 for vaginal yeast infections — the first non-azole oral treatment of its kind. In clinical trials it matched or outperformed the standard treatment fluconazole for one-time infections and is the only FDA-approved option for women who get yeast infections repeatedly (three or more per year). It's most useful for patients who can't take azole drugs due to allergies, resistant infections, or drug interactions.
A Discussion of High-Risk HPV in a 6-Year-Old Female Survivor of Child Sexual Abuse.
2017
Case reports in obstetrics and gynecology
Cao CD, Merjanian L, Pierre J, Balica A
Plain English A 6-year-old sexual abuse survivor was diagnosed with a high-risk strain of HPV (type 18) causing early cervical cell changes — a situation with almost no published guidance on how to manage it. Because treating aggressively could cause long-term harm to a young child's developing cervix, the authors recommend watchful waiting, HPV vaccination, and following adolescent cervical screening guidelines rather than immediate invasive procedures. This case highlights a major gap: there are no established protocols for managing high-risk HPV infections in young child abuse survivors.
Contraception pathway: application for midlife women.
2017
Women's midlife health
Kim CS, Tikhonov D, Merjanian L, Balica AC
Plain English Researchers created a step-by-step system that helps doctors prescribe the right birth control for women of any age, including women in their 40s and 50s. Doctors often forget that older women still need contraception even as their fertility naturally declines, so this pathway ensures midlife women get proper counseling and the most suitable options for them. By training entire office teams—from schedulers to nurses to doctors—to follow this system, healthcare practices can make sure every woman, regardless of age, gets appropriate birth control recommendations based on medical evidence.
Screening for Down syndrome in dichorionic twin pregnancies conceived by in vitro fertilization (IVF): a clinical pilot study to confirm the laboratory methods.
2014
Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics
Francois L, Kugler L, Santolaya JL, Faro R, Di Stefano V +2 more
Plain English Doctors screening for Down syndrome in twin pregnancies conceived through IVF need to apply mathematical corrections to standard blood test results, and this pilot study tested whether those corrections actually work in practice. Comparing 19 IVF-conceived dichorionic twin pregnancies to 80 singleton pregnancies, the biochemical markers used in screening showed slightly closer values to expected norms in twins, supporting the validity of the correction methods currently in use. A larger follow-up study is needed to confirm whether these adjustments make Down syndrome screening as reliable in IVF twins as it is in singleton pregnancies.
Adrian C Balica Nancy A Phillips Maria Rocktashel Jessica A Horne Lena L Merjanian Chi-Son Kim Deanna Tikhonov Connie D Cao Joelle Pierre Adrian Balica
Physician data sourced from the
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Publication data from
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Plain-English summaries generated by AI.
Not medical advice.