Posted by ed_uk on August 12, 2005, at 14:44:16
Transdermal testosterone patch increases sexual desire in women after surgical menopause
Testosterone hormone: low levels after menopause can cause libido problems
A transdermal patch that delivers 300µg of testosterone daily produces modest increases in sexual desire in women who have undergone surgical menopause, according to a new study (Archives of Internal Medicine 2005;165:1582).The patch, along with others that delivered either a lower or higher dose of testosterone, was tested against placebo in a 24-week double-blind trial involving 447 women aged 24 to 70 years. The women had developed low sexual desire after surgical menopause and were being treated with oral oestrogen therapy. Compared with women receiving placebo, those treated with the 300µg/day patch reported greater increases in scores for sexual desire: the score rose from a mean of 20.9 to 34.6 in the treatment group (a 67 per cent increase) compared with a rise from 20.9 to 29.3 in the placebo group (a 48 per cent increase). Sexual arousal scores showed similar changes.
The author of an accompanying editorial points out that the change in frequency of satisfying sexual activity translated to an absolute increase from three to five episodes per month (ibid, p1571). The study was funded by Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals, manufacturer of Intrinsa, a testosterone patch developed for use in female hypoactive sexual desire disorder.
Nuttan Tanna, specialist pharmacist at the Northwick Park Menopause Clinical and Research Unit, North West London Hospitals NHS Trust, welcomed the research. She said: “It is good to note that research is being undertaken to see if a patch system offers libido symptom control.”
Dr Tanna developed libido guidelines in 2002 after noting that many patients attending her clinics were presenting with problems. “We are aware that many women would prefer to have testosterone via alternative administration routes rather then implants, and many specialist units use the testosterone gel licensed for male hypogonadism on a non-licensed basis for women going through the menopause with a libido complaint.”
Procter & Gamble withdrew a licence application for its testosterone patch in the US in December 2004 after an advisory committee to the US Food and Drug Administration rejected the patch’s approval because of a lack of both efficacy and safety data.
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