Viagra-like drug for women

There is a new drug that could do for women what Viagra has
done for men is being tested at the University of Virginia. The drug is
a testosterone-laden ointment called LibiGel and it's intended to boost
the libido of women who have lost interest in sex. It will be
prescribed at UVa in coming months to women who are suffering from
hypoactive sexual desire disorder.
The condition is believed to affect one-third of American women.
"It
is the most common sexual problem that women have," said Dr. Anita
Clayton, a psychiatrist with the UVa Health System and author of the
2007 book "Satisfaction: Women, Sex and the Quest for Intimacy."
UVa joins 99 other medical institutions participating in testing the drug's efficacy and safety.
If
given the green light by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration,
Illinois-based BioSante Pharmaceuticals Inc. hopes to offer the drug to
any woman complaining of a low sex drive.
For now, though, Clayton will enroll 25 women between the ages of 30 and 65 to take part in the national study.
Those
women must have had both ovaries surgically removed, be currently
taking an estrogen supplement and be distressed about their lack of
libido.
Ovariectomies,
or surgical menopause, can lead to a drop in sexual interest because
ovaries produce roughly half of the testosterone in a woman's body.
Testosterone plays a key role in sexual functioning for men and women.
LibiGel comes in a pump bottle. The woman rubs
the small dot of gel into the skin of her upper arm. Over the next 24
hours, the gel's testosterone seeps into her bloodstream, boosting her
energy and libido.


Increase in satisfying sex

Clayton,
who is running the clinical trial at UVa, said the drug is better than
previous testosterone treatments because it keeps levels of the
chemical constant, much like naturally occurring testosterone.
"I expect this will work," she said.
In
its second-phase clinical trials at 17 institutions, LibiGel led to a
283 percent increase of satisfying sexual encounters for the women
taking the drug.
"A
lot of women have this problem, but unfortunately they've been largely
ignored by pharmaceutical companies," said BioSante's chief executive,
Stephen M. Simes. "It's not fair that women have no drugs, while men
have many."


Interesting, I always wonder about these kinds of drugs, I have heard so many stories of men showing up in the ER because the effects of there drug wouldn't go away. I can't even imagine what could happen to woman next. Besides the long term side effects of using this kind of medicine for a prolonged period of time.

What are your views? Discuss....