What's New: Hot Topics - Female Sexual Dysfunction
Combination pelvic, urinary care with sexual medicine, therapy may help improve female libido.
The New York Times (11/29, ST2, Winerip) reported, "Since 1998, men have had Viagra, and for many years, doctors prescribed hormone replacement therapy for women to ease menopause symptoms and improve sex drive." But, "hormone therapy was linked to small increases in breast cancer, heart attacks, and stroke" in 2002. Dr. Kristene Whitmore, a urologist, noted, "No one's talked about the impact Viagra" has had on women who "can't keep up" with men who "suddenly [have] a sex life again." According to Dr. Owen Montgomery, chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at Drexel University medical school, treatment for these women may include "a combination of sophisticated pelvic and urinary care along with sexual medicine and therapy." Dr. Montgomery called this approach "the cutting edge of a new field."
Publication casts doubt on efficacy of testosterone patch to treat hypoactive sexual disorder in post-menopausal women.
Following a story from HealthDay, BBC News (3/4/09) reports on its website that the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB) "has cast doubt on whether" Intrinsa, "a testosterone patch designed to boost post-menopausal women's flagging sex drive actually works," and said that "the long-term safety of Intrinsa remained unproven." DTB also "criticized trials of the treatment as flawed and inconclusive." Intrinsa is intended to treat hypoactive sexual desire disorder by "releasing a daily dose of the hormone into the blood stream from a patch worn on the lower abdomen." DTB contended, however, that "key trials of the patches involved highly selective groups of women, and excluded those with various mental or physical conditions that could also affect their sex drive." In addition, DTB said that "the patch was associated with side-effects such as acne, hair loss, skin reactions, weight gain, migraine, and insomnia." Because "trials of the treatment lasted for a maximum of six months...the long-term safety of the patch was not clear," DTB added.
Sexual effects from SSRIs may be more common than previously thought, researchers say.
The Boston Globe (12/15/08, Goldberg) reports that "sexual numbness, lack of libido," and stalled arousal are "sexual symptoms [that] have long been known side effects of the popular Prozac (fluoxetine) class of antidepressants, but a growing body of research suggests that they are far more common than previously thought, perhaps affecting half or more of patients." The warnings that are currently "on the labels of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, cite early studies in which the prevalence of sexual side effects was lower: four percent for Prozac, for example, and ranging from 0 to 28 percent for Paxil (paroxetine)." However, "more recent studies, in which patients were more likely to be asked about specific sexual side effects and thus more likely to report them, suggest that the ballpark range of those affected by SSRIs is between 30 and 50 percent, said researchers including Dr. Richard Balon, a psychiatry professor at Wayne State University, who studies the symptoms.
Sex therapist concerned with side effects of testosterone therapy.
UPI (12/10/08) reports that, according to author and sex therapist Domeena Renshaw, M.D., of Loyola University Health System in Chicago, "testosterone therapy may not be 'the magic bullet' women with low libidos have been hoping for." Dr. Renshaw pointed out that "women's libido issues may be more complicated," and may include "emotional problems, underlying health conditions, and the effect of medications, such as antidepressants." Dr. Renshaw, who is "not comfortable prescribing testosterone therapy," is concerned with its long-term side effects, such as an increased "risk for heart disease," as well as "excess facial hair, acne, and deepening of the voice."