Drug News Male hormone drives women crazy in bedroom - study
By Ben Wasserman
Nov 6, 2008 - 4:23:22 PM
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Thursday November 6, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- A new
study published in the November 2008 issue of the New England Journal of
Medicine suggests that a male hormone may be used to boost older women's libido
and result in more sexual episodes.
The trial of Procter & Gamble's Intrinsa testosterone
patches for women was sponsored by Procter & Gamble and the treatment was
indicated for hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD).
“HSDD is characterized as a lack or absence of sexual
fantasies and desire for sexual activity for some period of time”, Wikipedia states.
An estimated 26.7% among premenopausal
women and 52.4% among naturally menopausal women had the condition, according
to another study published in the July 2008 issue of Archives of Internal
Medicine.
The results of the current trial showed that at 24 week,
the 4-week frequency of satisfying sexual episodes increased in women who
receive 300 ug per day to 2.1 compared to 0.7 in those who did not receive the
treatment.
In the double-blind, placebo-controlled 52-week trial,
researchers tested two doses, 150 ug and 300 ug of testosterone per day or
placebo in 814 women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder.
The researchers also found that 150 ug per day of
testosterone did not have any effect in terms of sexual episodes.
But both doses were associated with
significant increases in desire and decreases in distress.
The adverse effects observed during the one-year trial
included an increased risk of breast cancer and hari growth.
Breast cancer was diagnosed in four of the 534
women treated with the male hormone, but none in the 277 placebo recipients.
The participants will be followed up for another year to
evaluate the safety of this treatment.
Susan Davis of Monash University in Melbourne, Australia
and colleagues concluded in their report that "In postmenopausal women not
receiving estrogen therapy, treatment with a patch delivering 300 µg of
testosterone per day resulted in a modest but meaningful improvement in sexual
function. The long-term effects of testosterone, including effects on the
breast, remain uncertain."
In response to the trial, a health observer who did not
want to be named suggested that any medical treatment for low libido in
postmenopausal women is not necessarily justified.
Sexual desire and performance varies from
person to person and decline naturally. Those who engage in less active sexual
activities do not necessarily have any real disorder.
Any treatment could be just against nature
and potentially do more harm than good.
Procter & Gamble has been trying to get Food and Drug
Administration’s approval for its Intrinsa testosterone patches for women. In
December, 2004 a 14-member FDA advisory committee unanimously rejected the
treatment citing concerns about the lack of long-term safety data and off-label
use.