Study Explores Possibility of a Female Viagra

New research might be bringing science a bit closer to a female version of Viagra.

In a study that explored the underlying processes of female sexual arousal, British-based researchers say they have learned more about how new treatments might be developed to help women with sexual arousal disorder.

In tests on female lab animals, a team from the drug maker Pfizer found that electrical stimulation of the pelvic nerve increases blood flow to the genitalia. This effect was enhanced if the animals were given an experimental drug called UK-414,495, which is believed to block the breakdown of a chemical messenger that plays a crucial role in increasing blood flow during sexual arousal.

Blood flow to the vagina, labia and clitoris increases when a woman is sexually aroused. The increased blood flow causes the organs to swell and the vagina to relax, and also increases vaginal lubrication and genitalia sensitivity, according to background information in a news release about the study.

Women with FSAD find arousal difficult and their genital organs don't respond to sexual stimulation. The condition affects up to 40 percent of women of all ages, the study authors said.

The study findings were published in the April 13 online edition of the British Journal of Pharmacology.

Female Viagra boosts women's libido

Female Viagra boosts women's libido

A "desire pill" for women has been found after scientists discovered a failed antidepressant reawakens the female libido.

The drug, flibanserin, did little to improve patients' mood, but did do wonders however for women's flagging sex drive, researchers found.
Results from a series of clinical trials showed "significant improvements" in a number of measures of libido among women who had lost interest in sex. Researchers have hailed it as a potential "Viagra for women".

The drug mimics serotonin and a certain forms of dopamine which are substances produced naturally in the body connected with mood, reward, and learning.

Women taking 100 milligrams of flibanserin once a day reported greater numbers of "satisfactory sexual encounters", higher levels of sexual desire, and reduced stress associated with sexual problems.

Professor John Thorp, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, US, who led the research, said: "Flibanserin was a poor antidepressant.

"However, astute observers noted that it increased libido in laboratory animals and human subjects. So, we conducted multiple clinical trials and the women in our studies who took it for hypoactive sexual desire disorder reported significant improvements in sexual desire and satisfactory sexual experiences.

"It's essentially a Viagra-like drug for women in that diminished desire or libido is the most common feminine sexual problem, like erectile dysfunction is in men."

Viagra, which helps men overcome impotency, also began life with another purpose in mind. It was originally designed to treat angina, the chest pain associated with heart disease.
Scientists discovered that Viagra had the welcome side effect of helping the penis to fill with blood, thereby producing an erection.

Pooled results from three of four trials testing flibanserin's ability to boost women's sex drives were presented at the Congress of the European Society for Sexual Medicine in Lyon, France.

A total of 1,946 pre-menopausal women aged 18 and older were treated either with flibanserin or an inactive "dummy" placebo drug for 24 weeks.

Prof Thorp said the treatment could provide a new alternative for women without having to resort to hormones which can have side effects.