Testosterone patch makes older women feel sexy

Women who experience a reduction in sexual desire after the surgical removal of the ovaries, can now be treated with a patch containing the hormone testosterone in order to increase sexual desire and activity.

In a new study, 447 women who had been diagnosed with hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) after ovarian surgery, were randomly assigned to receive testosterone patches, at one of three doses, or a placebo for 24 weeks.

In total 318 of the women completed the trial, and the researchers found that when compared with the placebo, the intermediate-dose testosterone patch significantly improved sexual desire and increased the frequency of satisfying sexual activity.

According to lead author Dr. Glenn D. Braunstein, from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, and colleagues, the lower testosterone dose offered no benefits, whereas the higher dose was no better than the intermediate dose.

It appeared that the testosterone patch was well tolerated at the doses studied and no serious adverse effects were seen.

The findings suggest there is a role for testosterone patches in the treatment of HSDD, but Dr. Robert A. Vigersky, from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC, says as yet the optimal dose remains to be determined, and it is still unclear if the intermediate-dose patch is "just right."

Vigersky says that the "benefits found by Braunstein and colleagues are modest and not clearly dose related."

The report is published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, July 25, 2005.