The Tampon Study: An Innovation of Convenience
- emilyharari
- Dec 23, 2024
- 5 min read
If women want better research on our bodies, we need to get practical.
I’m biotech’s hype woman, but let’s be real: Women’s health research has been ignored because it’s inconvenient. The menstrual cycle can interfere with biological signals, so most research studies have exclusively used male rats as their animal models. These studies are used to develop drugs for both men and women, but they only analyze male biology. For these scientific reasons, women’s health research has been ignored.
Despite the field acknowledging the need for more women’s health research—including an executive order by the Biden Administration to advance this area—social barriers persist. In two-partner households, working women still bear most of the responsibility for child-rearing. I remember Cheryl Sandberg saying this in Lean In, identifying how this imbalance affects women in the workplace. And now, we're seeing the downstream effects on women’s healthcare.
We need to innovate, and that’s exactly what Ridhi Tariyal, founder of NextGen Jane, has done.
How it Works:
NextGen Jane uses tampons to collect menstrual blood. This method is more convenient than venous blood draws, and even faster than upper arm lancet and microneedle devices, which I’ve showcased in the past. The innovation here is simple: Women are already using tampons. Instead of throwing them in the trash, they're mailed to the lab for analysis.
The science behind this is incredibly clever, too. If you’ve ever had a pap smear, you know what it feels like to get the tissue scraped out from your cervix like pumpkin guts from a Halloween carving. The crinkly hospital gown, the cold metal speculum, the stirrups. Why are they called stirrups? Are we horses?!
The goal of the pap smear is to identify abnormalities in the cervical tissue. Meanwhile, menstrual blood offers a more comfortable alternative: It’s essentially a non-invasive “natural biopsy;” the uterine lining that your body sheds during your period.
There’s ongoing debate in the medical field about how frequently women should get pap smears. I've had doctors recommend every year, while others have suggested every few years. The hesitation stems from concerns that scraping your tissue carries risks that may outweigh the benefits of frequent monitoring. As a patient, it makes me feel confused and nervous-- how am I supposed to make that risk assessment? A less invasive option to pap smears wouldn't just mean a more comfortable experience for female patients; it would also enable more frequent monitoring without added risk.
This is bigger than just cancer:
Detecting cancer with a tissue sample is relatively straightforward: A pathologist looks under a microscope for abnormal cells. However, diagnosing other women’s health conditions is far more complex. For many conditions, we don’t have a direct diagnostic test, so doctors rely on process of elimination—what’s known as a "diagnosis of exclusion." For women, this often means longer, more painful diagnostic journeys.
For this study, I had to collect a menstrual sample on the heaviest day of my flow. That happened to be a busy day for me, so I did this experiment on the go! At-home collections let us capture spontaneous biological events that otherwise wouldn’t get captured in the research.
Diagnostics offer a faster way to reach a diagnosis and prevent patient suffering. For example, NextGen Jane's initial research focus was developing a diagnostic test for endometriosis—a diagnosis of exclusion—by taking a closer look at the molecular biology of menstrual blood.
The Science Behind NextGen Jane:
NextGen Jane is studying DNA methylation patterns in uterine cells. You might wonder: Why can’t they use a simple cheek swab, like 23andMe? The answer lies in tissue specificity. DNA methylation patterns are unique to different tissues in the body, so to study uterine health, they need uterine cells.
What is DNA Methylation?
When cells replicate, they copy DNA. In this process, they sometimes add small chemical tags called “methyl groups” to the DNA. These methyl groups can be influenced by environmental factors like pollution, hormones, drugs, or stress. The effects might be negligible, or they could lead to health problems.
Here's a metaphor I've seen to describe it...DNA is like sheet music—a sequence of notes (nucleotides). Your cells “play” the notes to produce a song. DNA methylation acts like a volume knob, turning certain genes up or down. Imagine a roaring crescendo where one gene becomes over-expressed, drowning out others that are crucial for balance. This imbalance could contribute to disease.
By analyzing these methylation patterns in menstrual blood, NextGen Jane can detect early signals of uterine-related diseases.
Many of my friends struggle with painful and disruptive periods. Some have even gone to the hospital because of the pain. While I haven’t experienced that kind of physical pain from menstruation, my period has definitely complicated my own diagnostic journey.
For my friend, Inbar, it took years and multiple doctors to find out she has polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), another diagnosis of exclusion. On average, women with PCOS see at least three doctors and spend over two years seeking answers before being diagnosed. When I asked Inbar what she wishes researchers would focus on, she said, “I just wish we had more information about the different hormonal imbalances that exist for different women.”
Unlike a disease, PCOS is classified as a syndrome—a collection of symptoms without a single known cause. This lack of precision makes diagnosis and treatment even more challenging.
What now?
NextGen Jane presents a promising future for women’s health research. By leveraging something as routine as a tampon, it opens up a whole new world of research on menstruation. In fact, this area of study is so new that Ridhi coined a term for it: the “menstrualome.” Just as the genome encompasses all we know about DNA, the menstrualome represents all we have yet to discover about menstruation.
Women’s research is complex, but now it’s also practical! That means we can advance the research. To participate in NextGen Jane’s studies, visit Nextgenjane.com/clinical-studies.
... Note: This post was not sponsored by NextGen Jane. I did not run it by them before drafting or publishing. However, I know Ridhi through the Bay Area biotech community, and I can say firsthand that she is a passionate advocate and tireless leader for women’s health research.
The Tampon Study at a Glance:
❌ Data return: No 😬 Incidental findings: I don't recall! I did this study a while ago.
❌ Data transparency: Industry standard, so no (i.e. no notifications or specifics on who/what my data is shared for)
💰 Compensation: Yes. $25/sample. I collected 4 tampon samples & 1 venous sample. I received a $125 Amazon gift card.
💰 Funding: NextGen Jane is a venture-backed startup. I think you can find out their investors by looking at Pitchbook or some similar site. Consider asking about these 5 items before enrolling in a research study. Here is the original article explaining why.
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