Skin patch technology may increase women's libido.(Brief Article)

2002 JUL 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- "Not tonight honey, I have a headache" jokes are almost cliche. But for millions of women, it's no joke. Compounding the every day stresses of life, menopause and its subsequent declining hormone levels leave women lacking a sex drive.

Study results presented at the June 2002 10th World Congress on the Menopause by researchers from the University of Southern California suggest that transdermal (skin patch) hormone replacement therapy administration might actually improve libido in women.

"Female sexual dysfunction - low libido, slow arousal, difficulty reaching orgasms and painful intercourse - is a problem that many menopausal women view as a normal part of aging and have simply decided to accept. Where men have the choice of the little blue pill, there is a lack of treatment options for women," said Subir Roy, MD, principal investigator on the study and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. The results "might be the first step in providing a new solution for postmenopausal women, since preliminary results show that HRT from a patch had positive effects on mood and libido, leading to more orgasms."

Although millions of postmenopausal women complain of decreased sex drive after menopause, there are currently no treatment methods for female sexual dysfunction. Preliminary research studies have indicated that testosterone and/or androgen supplements can have beneficial effects on women's sex drive, but none is currently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in women.

"Administering testosterone or androgen therapies in women is very tricky. Since we don't have data on long-term effects and correct dosing, we often see unwanted side effects such as excessive hair growth and acne," said Roy.

"What makes our results so exciting is they indicate that HRT, when administered via a patch, allows a woman's body to better utilize the androgens, including testosterone, she already has, resulting in improved libido."

To combat ...