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Back to Gynecology Articles
Updated: Thursday, 21st October 2004
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50% of women receiving the patch showed a significant increase in sex drive
as opposed to those receiving a placebo.
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Loss of sex drive, a condition known as
hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD), in women can be due
to many causes.
Some are psychological such as marital problems, power
struggles; others are physical such as
heart disease, or any other disabling disease. Some
medications may also lead to low sex drive (antidepressants).
Reduced estrogen to
postmenopausal levels can lead to dryness of the vagina
making sex painful which has psychological complications.
Another cause may be reduced testosterone
levels. It has been argued that increasing testosterone
levels even in those without low levels may also serve to
increase sex drive. Another hormone currently under study is MSH (melanocyte stimulating hormone). It has been proposed to
be a cause for the increased sex drive experienced in women
at the time of ovulation. A recent study on female rats has
just been published and shows favorable results. However, the
drug is still in the preclincal testing phase and it will be
a long time before we see it on the market (if it ever makes
it).
Intrinsa - sex boosting patch
Although not yet approved by the FDA, a new
testosterone patch showed
very promising results in a recent study. Indeed, 50% of women receiving
the patch showed a significant increase in sex drive as
opposed to those receiving a placebo. The study only included
women with low sex drive due to surgically induced menopause.
They all had a condition called
hypoactive sexual desire
disorder (HSDD). This is a very significant result for a
disease which previously had no effective treatment. The study showed
there were also significant increases in other measures of
sexual function, such as arousal, orgasm, pleasure,
responsiveness, and less psychological distress.
Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals, who manufactures the
testosterone patch which is to be called Intrinsa if it is approved by
the FDA, sponsored the study.
In the study, which was presented this week at the
Endocrine Society's 86th Annual Meeting in New Orleans, researchers
compared the effects of using a testosterone patch containing 300
micrograms of testosterone against a placebo patch in 533 women with
hypoactive sexual desire
disorder (HSDD). This form of sexual
dysfunction is defined as a lack of sexual desire that causes a woman
personal distress. The patches were worn on the skin and changed twice
a week during the 24-week study.
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A second study, was presented this week at the annual meeting
of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in Philadelphia.
The phase III clinical trial looked at the effects of the
testosterone patch in 549 menopausal women with
hypoactive sexual desire
disorder (HSDD).
Half of women wore a testosterone patch that
delivered 300 micrograms of testosterone per day and the other half
wore a placebo patch. Both patches were replaced twice weekly and
worn for 24 weeks. All of the women were also taking hormone
replacement therapy in the form of estrogen pills with or without a
progestin.
Women who received the testosterone patch
reported four times as many satisfying sexual episodes compared with
those who wore the placebo (an average of about two per month
compared with 0.5 per month among the placebo users). There were
also significant improvements in other measures of female sexual
function among testosterone patch users, such as arousal, orgasm,
pleasure, responsiveness, and self-image.
It should be noted however, that testosterone
therapy in women is associated with several unfavorable side
effects, of which the most disturbing is increased body hair. There
were some reports of red or irritated skin from the patch.
References
Buster, J. "Large Phase III Study Confirms That Transdermal
Testosterone Patch 300 mg/day Significantly Improves Sexual Function
with Minimal Side Effects in Surgically Menopausal Women," presented
at The Endocrine Society's 86th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, June
16-19, 2004. News release, Endocrine Society.
Kroll, R. "Testosterone transdermal patch (TTP) significantly
improved sexual function in naturally menopausal women in a large
phase III study," Presented at the annual meeting of the American
Society for Reproductive Medicine, Oct. 16-20, 2004, Philadelphia.
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