Findings from National Institutes of Health provide new insights into hypogonadism.

In this recently published article, scientists in the United States conducted a study "To assess sexual function in women with spontaneous 46,XX primary ovarian insufficiency after at least 3 months of a standardized hormone replacement regimen. Cross-sectional cohort, controlled."

"National Institutes of Health Clinical Research Center. Women with primary ovarian insufficiency (n = 143) and regularly menstruating controls (n = 70). Self administered questionnaires, 100 mu g/day E-2 patch, oral medroxyprogesterone acetate 10 mg for 12 days each month for patients. Derogatis Interview for Sexual Function Self-Report (DISF-SR). Women with primary ovarian insufficiency had significantly lower DISF-SR composite scores compared with control women. Their serum total testosterone levels were significantly correlated with DISF-SR composite score, although this accounted for only 4% of the variance in this measure. Patients with testosterone levels below normal tended to have lower DISF-SR composite scores. Of patients with primary ovarian insufficiency, 9 of 127 (7%) scored below the second percentile on the composite sexual function score, compared with 1of 49 control women (2%). As assessed by the DISF-SR, sexual function is in the normal range for most young women with 46,XX spontaneous primary ovarian insufficiency who are receiving physiologic E-2 replacement," wrote S.N. Kalantaridou and colleagues, ...