Mild Dysplasia Causes

Dysplasia comes from the Greek language, and roughly means 'bad formation'. It is a term used in pathology to denote a microscopic condition, wherein there is an abnormality in division and maturation of cells within a tissue. There is an inverse relation in the expansion of immature cells, and the number and location of mature cells. Dysplasia can occur in three forms – mild, moderate and severe. Also, dysplasia is seen in the cervix of women. Since dysplasia is a microscopic condition, hence, unlike most diseases and disorders, there are no visible symptoms, especially when it is in its mild form. However, its important to be knowledgeable of this condition, as even mild dysplasia of the cervix is considered to be a precancerous lesion. Given below are the various mild dysplasia causes and treatment.

Mild Dysplasia Causes
One of only confirmed causes of mild dysplasia till date has been the human papilloma virus (HPV). There are over a hundred different types of the human papilloma virus, of which a small sub-group has been identified as being the causative agent in mild dysplasia of the cervix. These HPV have been found to infect the lining cell of the genital and reproductive tract in women. HPV is a very common sexually transmitted disease seen in the United States. In fact, it has been seen that over 75% of the sexually active women acquire this virus at some point or the other, and what is even more alarming is the fact that around 50% of these infected women fall in the age group of 15 to 25 years. Initially, there were other mild dysplasia causes that were theorized, like having multiple sexual partners, bacterial infections, etc. However, now it has been confirmed, that of all the mild dysplasia causes that were put forth, only the human papilloma virus was found to be true. But how exactly this virus causes this disease, and how it brings about malfunctioning of the cell division procedure, is still not very clear.

Mild Dysplasia Symptoms
As stated earlier, there are no visible mild dysplasia symptoms. However, in some females, there maybe the presence of genital warts in and around the genital area. In such cases, this maybe a vital indicator, which can help in diagnosing mild dysplasia of the cervix. But most cases of mild dysplasia go unnoticed until an inadvertent mild dysplasia pap smear test shows the presence of this condition.

Mild Dysplasia Treatment
The good news is that, when this mild dysplasia occurs in young women, it more often than not spontaneously resolves on its own, without the need of any active treatment. The average duration of presence of HPV in the cervical lining is approximately 8-13 months. However, there is always a possibility of getting reinfected, hence, its important to religiously follow up with pap smears.

Risks Associated with Mild Dysplasia
Mild dysplasia can progress into moderate or severe dysplasia, which may in turn progress to cervical cancer, and hence, one needs to keep an eye out for mild dysplasia. Hence, for women who are under the age of 21, and who have mild dysplasia for less than 2 years, a repeat pap smear every year is required. For women over the age of 21, follow-up depends on what the pap smear result was, prior to the cervical biopsy. Sometimes, mild dysplasia is preceded by a pap showing atypical squamous cell growths. For these patients the recommendation is to repeat a test for high risk HPV within a year. However, if the HPV test is negative in one year, routine annual screening is still recommended. Certain factors that increase the likelihood of the infection transgressing into cancer include smoking, repeatedly getting infected by HPV, advancing age and an impaired immune system. Hence, besides getting regular check-ups done for mild dysplasia, it is very important to maintain ones health.

So this was all about mild dysplasia causes, symptoms and treatment. Once diagnosed, regular check-ups are of paramount importance, because though the chances of mild dysplasia turning into cancer are slim, its better to be safe than sorry!