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Viagra For Women?
Reported November 18, 2009
(Ivanhoe Newswire) – A drug originally developed as an
anti-depressant may work better as a female sexual boost. Researchers say it
could be a Viagra for women.
Three separate clinical studies have found that the anti-depressant,
flibanserin, can increase libido in women who report a low sex drive.
Multiple clinical trials reported that women with hypoactive sexual desire
disorder who took 100 mg of flibanserin daily saw an increase in their
number of satisfactory sexual encounters, increased sexual desire, and a
reduction of distress associated with sexual dysfunction.
“It’s essentially a Viagra-like drug for women in that diminished desire or
libido is the most common feminine sexual problem, like erectile dysfunction
is in men,” John M. Thorp Jr., McAllister distinguished professor of
obstetrics and gynecology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
School of Medicine and principle North-American investigator, was quoted as
saying.
The studies involved a total of 1,946 pre-menopausal women 18 years and
older, and randomly assigned women to either receive flibanserin or a
placebo. Particpants were followed four weeks prior to the study, and four
weeks after the study. Researchers found that a daily dose of 50 mg was too
small to be effective, and that greatest improvement of symptoms required
100 mg of flibanserin daily.
“These results point to a novel approach to pharmacologic treatment of the
sexual problem that plagues reproductive age women the most," Thorpe was
quoted as saying.
Nine to 26 percent of American women are affected by hypoactive sexual
desire disorder.
SOURCE: Presented at the Congress of the European Society for Sexual
Medicine in Lyon, France, November 16, 2009 |
