Drug could help women's sex lives

Clare Hughes London

Women having problems with their sex life could benefit from a drug that can increase sexual desire and improve lovemaking. Researchers at Concordia University, Canada, found that females given PT-141 solicited sex from males four to five times more often than controls.

James Pfaus, who is carrying out the research on rats, says, "There's nothing yet in the arsenal to target sexual dysfunction in women. I think the impact could be great as a successful adjunct to [psychological] therapy."

It is estimated that 43% of women suffer from sexual dysfunction, which is often related to problems with arousal, desire, orgasm, or muscle spasms during entry. This new drug is thought to work in women by increasing desire.

PT-141 is sprayed into the nose from where it penetrates cerebral blood vessels. It acts centrally on MC4--a melanocortin receptor subtype--which is known to play a in sexual arousal and appetite. It differs from Viagra (sildenafil) which acts peripherally to dilate blood vessels.

The drug was found not to have any rewarding properties of its own, making it unlikely that it could be used as a "date rape" drug or to entice women to have sex against their will.

Pfaus says, "It's not going to make women want to have sex with someone they don't really like. In that sense it's not the kind of 'aphrodisiac' men have been fantasising about for centuries. Men will still have to remember the importance of birthdays, flowers, candlelit dinners, and massages."

First phase trials in men showed no significant changes in blood pressure or heart rate. Pfaus says, "The half life in plasma is about 20 minutes in humans, which means that it probably has few, if any, untoward side effects." An initial trial in females is currently under way.



studentBMJ 2002;10:215-258 July ISSN 0966-6494