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Testosterone: It's Not Just for Men Anymore

Sept. 6, 2000 -- Sex -- It's everywhere you look: on television, in the movies, magazine ads, and in news articles. But what if you want to jump on the bandwagon, but just can't? Sexual dysfunction among men has begun to get more attention, and the same is becoming true for women. The days of "Honey, I have a headache" may soon only be used by a woman when she really does have a headache.

Sexual dysfunction, especially in women, is little understood. However, it is known that there can be certain physical problems associated with a loss of sexual desire -- menopause for one.

The mechanical problems associated with menopause -- vaginal dryness, loss of elasticity, hot flashes, irritability, and loss of bladder control -- are often thought to be due to the abrupt loss of natural estrogen. For women who can take hormone replacement therapy (HRT), these problems are often easily addressed. Even without HRT, use of an estrogen cream or ring placed in the vagina can help.

However, lack of arousal, desire, and less intense orgasms are often overlooked and not helped by HRT alone. Currently, interest has turned to women's replacing testosterone levels, which is associated with sexual arousal and desire.

Menopause occurs naturally, but it also can be brought on by surgery. Abrupt changes in sexual response often occur after a woman's ovaries are removed, causing profound changes in testosterone and estrogen levels.

A study reported in the Sept. 7 issue of TheNew England Journal of Medicine looked at a group of women who had both ovaries removed and who were on HRT. Their average age was 48, and they all reported a less than satisfying sex life.

The study, which was led by researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, tested two testosterone patches against a placebo patch containing no hormones. The researchers found that the low dose and the placebo patch gave about the same results of improved sexual functioning, leading them to conclude that there was a psychological impact of simply giving attention to the women's sexual dysfunction. However, when the women were put on the high-dose patch, there was a twofold to threefold increase in sexual activity, which included desire, arousal, activity, and pleasure.

"The significant finding of the study was that the higher testosterone dose, which importantly was still within the normal range for reproductive-age women, did result in significant increases in frequency of sexual activity and ratings of pleasure," study author Jan Shifren, MD tells WebMD.

Shifren, an assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School in Boston, and a reproductive endocrinologist at the Vincent OB/GYN Service at Massachusetts General Hospital, says an additional highlight of the study was that the women reported a better sense of overall well-being.