MONDAY, April 14 (HealthDay News) -- Testosterone spray slightly
improved sexual satisfaction in premenopausal women, but a placebo
had the same effect, a new study reports.
Researchers look at 261 women, aged 35 to 46, who were treated
at six medical centers in Australia. The women, with self-reported
low libido and low serum-free testosterone levels, were randomly
assigned to receive one of three different doses of a testosterone
spray or a placebo daily for 16 weeks.
At the end of that time, all the women reported increased
frequency of sexually satisfying events. The difference between the
testosterone spray and the placebo was statistically significant
only for women who received the middle dose of testosterone.
The researchers found that 81 percent to 86 percent of women in
the testosterone groups and 70 percent of the women in the placebo
group reported adverse side effects. The most common was hair
growth on the abdomen, where the testosterone was sprayed.
The study was published in the April 15 issue of the
Annals of Internal Medicine.
In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Rosemary Bassone, of the
University of British Columbia in Vancouver, wrote that women's
testosterone levels and libidos may decline as they age, but that
doesn't mean the lack of testosterone is linked with sexual
dissatisfaction.
"We do not have a fully satisfactory rationale for testosterone
therapy," and there is a "lack of long-term safety data," Bassone
wrote.
Instead of prescribing testosterone for women with sexual
dissatisfaction, doctors should examine health and relationship
issues, sexual dysfunction in the partner, and treat problems using
conventional methods such as cognitive behavioral therapy, sex
therapy and psychotherapy, Bassone recommended.
More information
The American Academy of Family Physician has more about
female sexual dysfunction.
