Effect of Androgens upon Libido in Women

Salmon, Udall J.; Geist, Samuel H.

doi:10.1210/jcem-3-4-235

Cited by 84 publications

(20 citation statements)

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“…These women, however, were receiving shockingly supraphysiological amounts of testosterone (75–350 mg/week) that produced somatic virilization, such as lowering of the voice, clitoral enlargement, and growth of unwanted facial hair (Adair & Hermann, 1946; Geist et al, 1940; Shorr, 1938). Nonetheless, in response to these anecdotal reports, Salmon and Geist (1943) directly investigated the ability of supraphysiological amounts of testosterone (20–75mg/week) to increase sexual desire in pre- and postmenopausal women. They found that testosterone therapy successfully increased sexual desire in all of their female participants, but that testosterone in combination with estradiol was more effective at increasing sexual desire in postmenopausal women than was testosterone alone.…”

Section: Testosterone and Women’s Sexual Desire: A Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

Increasing women's sexual desire: The comparative effectiveness of estrogens and androgens

Cappelletti

Wallen

2016

Hormones and Behavior

139

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Both estradiol and testosterone have been implicated as the steroid critical for modulating women’s sexual desire. By contrast, in all other female mammals only estradiol has been shown to be critical for female sexual motivation and behavior. Pharmaceutical companies have invested heavily in the development of androgen therapies for female sexual desire disorders, but today there are still no FDA approved androgen therapies for women. Nonetheless, testosterone is currently, and frequently, prescribed off-label for the treatment of low sexual desire in women, and the idea of testosterone as a cure-all for female sexual dysfunction remains popular. This paper places the ongoing debate concerning the hormonal modulation of women’s sexual desire within a historical context, and reviews controlled trials of estrogen and/or androgen therapies for low sexual desire in postmenopausal women. These studies demonstrate that estrogen-only therapies that produce periovulatory levels of circulating estradiol increase sexual desire in postmenopausal women. Testosterone at supraphysiological, but not at physiological, levels enhances the effectiveness of low-dose estrogen therapies at increasing women’s sexual desire; however, the mechanism by which supraphysiological testosterone increases women’s sexual desire in combination with an estrogen remains unknown. Because effective therapies require supraphysiological amounts of testosterone, it remains unclear whether endogenous testosterone contributes to the modulation of women’s sexual desire. The likelihood that an androgen-only clinical treatment will meaningfully increase women’s sexual desire is minimal, and the focus of pharmaceutical companies on the development of androgen therapies for the treatment of female sexual desire disorders is likely misplaced.

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Section: Testosterone and Women’s Sexual Desire: A Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

Increasing women's sexual desire: The comparative effectiveness of estrogens and androgens

Cappelletti

Wallen

2016

Hormones and Behavior

139

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“…This finding supports the thesis that, as in humans, chimpanzee sexual activity is not confined to purposes of procreation [Yerkes & Elder, 1936;Yerkes, 19391. Female primate sexual initiative has been reported to be correlated with circulating androgens [Salmon & Geist, 1943;Genazzani et al, 1978;Wallis & Englander-Golden, 19851. A peak in testosterone occurs just prior to ovulation in a regular chimpanzee menstrual cycle [Nadler et al, 1985;Wallis, unpub.…”

Section: Genital Swelling Increases a Pregnant Female's Attractivitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Social behavior and genital swelling in pregnant chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

Wallis

Lemmon

1986

American J Primatol

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Previous reports of increased sexual activity associated with genital swelling during chimpanzee pregnancy have suggested that the tumescent pregnant female may be regarded as a regularly cycling estrous female. Analysis of additional data from seven pregnant and eight cycling females, however, indicated that tumescent pregnant females differed from cycling females in some social interactions with males. As in earlier reports, pregnant females were more receptive to male-initiated copulatory bouts. In addition, pregnant females initiated grooming bouts with males much less frequently than did cycling females, and males spent less time grooming and less frequently inspected the genitals of pregnant than cycling cagemates. This tendency to decrease social interaction during pregnancy is consistent with field reports that pregnant chimpanzees prefer the company of their offspring and other noncycling females. In addition, the genital swelling patterns of 40 chimpanzee pregnancies were analyzed. Length of gestation averaged 231.5 days. Although a high degree of individual variation existed, females were swollen an average of 41% of the days observed, yet reached maximum swelling only 8.7% of the time. Genital swelling was less frequent during the third trimester, averaging 50.5,47.9, and 22.6% tumescent days in each trimester. Young pregnant females showed maximum swelling more often than did older females. This finding is discussed with respect to field reports of intercommunity transfer of young, tumescent female chimpanzees.

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“…For over 60 years, women have been treated with T to improve libido (1)(2)(3)(4). Results of the first randomized, doubleblind placebo-controlled trial of T therapy for menopausal women, published in 1950 by Greenblatt and coworkers, demonstrated an improvement in libido (5).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Safety of testosterone treatment in postmenopausal women

Braunstein¹

2007

Fertility and Sterility

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Effect of Androgens upon Libido in Women

Cited by 84 publications

References 1 publication

Increasing women's sexual desire: The comparative effectiveness of estrogens and androgens

Increasing women's sexual desire: The comparative effectiveness of estrogens and androgens

Social behavior and genital swelling in pregnant chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

Safety of testosterone treatment in postmenopausal women

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