Testosterone for low libido: Questions remain

Testosterone for low libido: Questions remain

Low sexual desire is commonly reported by postmenopausal women. A new study suggests that testosterone replacement may be of benefit. Researchers randomized 814 postmenopausal women with hypoactive sexual desire or disorder to testosterone patches delivering 150 or 300 µg of testosterone per day or placebo. The primary endpoint was change from baseline to week 24 in the 4-week frequency of satisfying sexual episodes. Safety outcomes were followed out to one year. At 24 weeks the primary endpoint was significantly greater in the group receiving 300 µg of testo-sterone per day than placebo (increase in sexually satisfied episodes of 2.1 vs 0.7, P < 0.001) but not in the group receiving 150 µg per day. Both doses of testosterone were associated with significant increases in desire and decreases in distress. The rate of androgenic side effects including unwanted hair growth was higher in the group receiving 300 µg per day. Breast cancer was diagnosed in 4 women who received testosterone vs none in the placebo group. The authors conclude that a testo-sterone patch delivering 300 µg per day results in modest but meaningful improvement in sexual function although the long-term effects of testo-sterone including effects on the breasts remain uncertain (N Engl J Med 2008;359:2005-2017). This study confirms previous reports that testosterone has a positive effect on sexuality in women. The rate of breast cancer, although not reaching statistical significance in this study, raises concern.