Mar 20 2009
Testosterone Does Not Patch Women’s Sex Drive
When a treatment doesn’t work, it is good to know. Null results are important. According to a ScienceDaily post:
A new testosterone patch, designed to pep up a woman’s flagging sex drive after womb and ovary removal, may not work, and its long term safety is not proven, says Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB).
Actually the patch did work. But no better than the placebo treatment, which produced a large response. This suggested to the researchers that “low hormone levels might not have been the problem.”
Hmm.
Side effects were a significant problem as well.
The two key trials reported side effect rates of around 75%, mostly attributable to skin reactions at the sites where the patches had been applied. Other common unwanted side effects, occurring in up to one in 10 women, were acne, excess hair (hirsutism), hair loss (alopecia), breast pain, weight gain, insomnia, voice deepening, and migraine. Some of these may persist.
Those potential side effects would definitely go on the “cost” side of the cost-benefit ledger.
While the news from this study is not positive, it is indeed good to know the results. Information is power.
My fellow on Orkut shared this link and I’m not dissapointed that I came here.