Testosterone Patch Could Help Post-Menopausal Women Improve Their Sex Drives

Women could soon have a new treatment option for reduced or lost sex drives as a result of menopause. While we all know growing older has its faults, many despise the notion that they will no longer desire sex with their partners. However, 43 percent of post-menopausal women have significant drops in sexual desire and it can be very troubling. Though not yet FDA approved for the U.S. or Canada, there is a new testosterone patch that could help post-menopausal women to increase their sex drives.

There are several women who experience the loss of interest in sex, during and after menopause. Doctors say one of the reasons is the drop in estrogen that comes with the menopause. One of the approved treatments for women during and after menopause is
Estrogen replacement which can increase lubrication and even restore a woman’s sex drive, but it has been found that hormone replacement can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. Even though there is no testosterone therapy approved by the FDA in the U.S. there are doctors already prescribing testosterone treatments instead of estrogen therapy to help women increase their sex drives.

Since 1999 Procter & Gamble Co has worked to gain U.S. approval for its testosterone patch called Intrinsa. The FDA declined the companies request for approval in 2004 based on claims that there wasn’t enough long term safety data The patch would be used to increase post-menopausal women’s sex drive and satisfaction. This week the New England Journal of Medicine published a new study conducted by Proctor & Gamble to determine the effects of extended treatments with the testosterone patch that delivers a steady stream of testosterone through a patch worn by women daily. The new study lasted for 52 weeks. The researchers used the first 24 weeks to evaluate the patches effectiveness and the entire study to access the safety of the patch. The study involved around 800 postmenopausal women who at the time were not taking estrogen therapy and were experiencing low sex drives. .Randomly the women were divided into three groups. One group were administered a 300 micrograms patch of testosterone daily, another was given treatment with a patch that delivered 150 micrograms of testosterone daily, and the other given a placebo patch

Before treatment with the testosterone patch those women involved in the study only reported a little over two satisfying sexual episodes a month. Around 71 percent of the women involved in the study completed the efficacy assessment at 24 weeks and 57 percent completed the entire year of the study. The scores for measuring improvements with sexual desire considered desire, orgasm, pleasure, and self image. Both groups who were given the testosterone patches reported improvements in their sexual desires. Those women who were given the 300 microgram dosage patch reported an average of 2.1 additional satisfying sexual episodes over a four week period. Those on the lower dose only reported 1.2 additional sexually satisfying episodes and the placebo group reported only 0.7 additional satisfying episodes. Dr. Susan R. Davis, a professor of women's health at Monash University in Australia and the studies lead author pointed out that, "This is the first study to show that when used alone, testosterone administered by a skin patch significantly improves sexual well-being in postmenopausal women,"

Intrinsa has already been approved for women who have had surgical menopause by the European Union. Even though women taking testosterone treatments may have to worry about some extra hair growth, as seen during the study, it was only mild and study participants didn’t seem to mind. However, during the study involving 534 post-menopausal women, who took one of the dosages of the testosterone patch, there were four participants diagnosed with breast cancer and none in the placebo group. Though researchers don’t believe it was from the patch, some doctors and researchers would like more studies to explore possible links between the patch and breast cancer.

Even though some loss of sexual desire seems to be part of growing older, many of us don’t want to think about our sexual desire and enjoyment being gone forever. We would hope for a possible treatment without having dangerous side effects. It seems Proctor & Gamble has already taken steps in the right direction to evaluate their product even further in an effort to gain approval from the FDA in the U.S. for sex drive treatment. Now, maybe further studies will help to determine the link between the patch treatment and breast cancer in order to determine if it was just coincidence or actually a side effect of the testosterone patch.

Dr. Stephen Holzapfel, director of the sexual medicine counseling unit at Women's College Hospital, cautioned women who are taking testosterone treatments and recommended that they undergo regular checkups, mammograms and pap smears to make sure the testosterone isn't causing potentially serious long-term side effects.