Viagra wipes off women’s sexual dysfunction

Viagra, the magic blue pill, which continues to save sexual lives of many men all around the world, can be helpful to women too. Similarly to the effect Viagra produces on men, the pill may help women experience better sex, US researchers believe.

Photo: Viagra wipes off women’s sexual dysfunction

Viagra wipes off women’s sexual dysfunction

They found that those women on antidepressants, who took Viagra, had fewer sexual side effects than those who took a placebo. Sexual misfortunes can prompt many people to stop taking medications to treat depression.

"By treating this bothersome treatment-associated adverse effect ... patients can remain antidepressant-adherent, reduce the current high rates of premature medication discontinuation, and improve depression disease management outcomes," Dr. H. George Nurnberg of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque said.

Pfizer Inc, Viagra’s creator, funded the research.

The scientists conducted the research among 98 women who complained of sexual dysfunction symptoms, including delay or absence of orgasm or lack of arousal, and whose depression was in remission after treatment with antidepressants.

Women took a dose of Viagra or the placebo one to two hours before anticipated sexual activity for eight weeks.

A substantial body of research has explored the role of interpersonal factors in sexual dysfunction among women, particularly in relation to orgasmic response. These studies have largely focused on the impact of the quality of the relationship on the sexual functioning of the partners. Some studies have evaluated the role of specific relationship variables, whereas others have examined overall relationship satisfaction. Some studies have explored events; others have focused on attitudes as an empirical measure of relationship functioning. Subject populations have varied from distressed couples to sexually dysfunctional clients to those in satisfied relationships.

Estimates of the percentage of female sexual dysfunction attributable to physical factors have ranged from 30% to 80%. The disorders most likely to result in sexual dysfunction are those that lead to problems in circulatory or neurological function. These factors have been more extensively explored in men than in women. Physical etiologies such as neurological and cardiovascular illnesses have been directly implicated in both premature and retarded ejaculation as well as in erectile disorder (Hawton 1993), but the contribution of physiological factors to female sexual dysfunction is not so clear. However, recent literature does suggest that there may be an impairment in the arousal phase among diabetic women. Given that diabetic women show a significant variability in their response to this medical disorder, it is not surprising that the disease’s influence on arousal is also highly variable. In fact, the lack of a clear association between medical disorders and sexual functioning suggests that psychological factors play a significant part in the impact of these disorders on sexual functioning.

Agencies