Roughly 16 million women over the age of 50 suffer from low sex drive. Yet, until recently, there were no FDA-approved medications to treat the lack of sexual thoughts and desire experienced by women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD).
That's why the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recent approval of the drug flibanserin (sold under the brand name Addyi™) to treat women with HSDD, is such big news.
"It's a historic moment for women," said Leah Millheiser, MD, director of Stanford's Female Sexual Medicine Program, in a story published today in the San Francisco Chronicle. HSDD, Millheiser explains, is more than the occasional loss of sexual desire that can result from changes in hormones, stress and discontent in a relationship. "These are women who want to have sex with their partner, they're attracted to their partner and used to love having sex," Millheiser said. "It's as if someone turned off the lightbulb."
It's tempting to equate flibanserin to Viagra (the drug approved to treat erectile disfunction in men), but this is clinically inaccurate. As explained in the article, Viagra treats erectile dysfunction by increasing blood flow to the penis, while flibanserin works on the brain.
From the story:
The drug [flibanserin] was first developed as an antidepressant. Like other antidepressants, it works on the brain's serotonin levels, but researchers say it works on different serotonin receptors than other similar antidepressants.
It didn't work to relieve depression, as it turned out, but patients reported increased sexual desire.
...
In clinical trials, researchers said 53 percent of women who took the drug reported an increased desire for sex and 29 percent said the drug decreased their level of distress over their condition. In the trials, the number of "satisfying sexual events" reported by participants essentially doubled from an average of 2.5 per month before they received flibanserin to five while taking it.
Millheiser credits Viagra for helping to pave the way for this new approved treatment for HSDD. "As a result of Viagra, there was an explosion in research and understanding into what sexual dysfunction is and how we treat it," she said. "It took 17 years to ... get to this day," she said.
Previously: When hormonal issues interfere with mental health, Female sexual health expert responds to delay in approval for "Viagra for women and Speaking up about female sexual dysfunction
Photo by Day Donaldson
