Drug News
Viagra helps women using antidepressants
By Sue Mueller
Jul 23, 2008 - 7:52:25 AM

WEDNESDAY July 23, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- A new study suggests that Pfizer's male importance drug Viagra may be used to help overcome the side effect of antidepressants on the sexual performance of women who were taking the drugs.

The study involved 98 women who had arousal problems and were all diagnosed with major depression and taking a specific class of antidepressants known as selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors or SSRIs.  

About 6 million women in the US suffer from major depression. Antidepressants are the most common drugs used to treat the mood disorder, but often have side effects on sexual performance.

All women were premenopausal and divided into two groups with one group assigned Viagra one to two hours before sexual activity for eight weeks and the other given a placebo.

At the end of the trial, 72 percent of women in the Viagra group reported improvement in sexual performance compared to 27 percent of those taking the placebo.

Women reported best performance tended to have high levels of testosterone, a similar phenomenon seen in men taking Viagra.

The side effects of Viagra the women experienced were typically associated with the drug including headaches and flushing.

The findings were reported yesterday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.