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