Spray To Boost Female Libido
Australian researchers have just completed a large phase 2 clinical trial testing the effectiveness of a spray on testosterone treatment for women with low sex drive. The treatment, called Testosterone MDTS®, is a transdermal spray treatment applied to the abdomen. It was initially developed to assist naturally and surgically menopausal women, but the researchers report that the spray also increases "satisfactory sexual events" for young women with low libido.
The trial was conducted at six sites across Australia and was carried out with guidance from the US Food and Drug Administration. The company behind the spray, Acrux Ltd, said the results were a significant milestone for bringing to market a product to treat low female libido, offering women with this condition an improved quality of life. The full results of the trial are to be presented later this year. Some key findings include:
- A statistically significant increase in satisfactory sexual events was seen at week 16.
- A similar trend was observed in all treatment groups from week 4 compared with baseline. In the most effective treatment group, the number of satisfactory sexual events more than doubled at week 16 compared with baseline.
- There were no treatment-related severe adverse reactions reported during the trial.
- The most common side-effect was a mild increase in hair growth, resulting in only 2 patients withdrawing from the study, both in the highest dose group. The incidence of skin irritation was very low and reported as mild.
Principal Investigator Professor Susan Davis of Monash University said: "Previous studies have demonstrated the efficacy of transdermal testosterone delivery for the treatment of naturally and surgically menopausal women. This new study supports the findings of our earlier study that premenopausal women with low libido can also enjoy an increase in satisfactory sexual events following treatment with transdermal testosterone".