Viagra An Antidote For Women’s Sexual Dysfunction: Study Highlights

Viagra, a recognized performance-correction-drug for men can help women too, especially those encountering sexual problems from their antidepressant use, a new study reveals.

Antidepressants are prescription drugs used for alleviating depressiondefine or dysthymia symptoms. As antidepressants increase the chemical serotonin in the brain – the hormone known to slow down sex drive – they often interfere in the sexual functioning of the body. An estimated 30 – 70 percent of people treated for major depression suffer from antidepressant treatment-associated sexual dysfunction.

Conversely, Viagra increases blood flow to sex organs, thus helping in better sex and achieving orgasm, researchers explained.

For eight weeks, the researchers at the University Of New Mexico School Of Medicine monitored 98 premenopausal women averaging 37 years on antidepressants. Randomly they were assigned to either the Viagra group or to the placebo group.

While no one knew in which group they fall, the women were instructed to take a pill before each sexual activity.

Women in the Viagra pill group reported an improved ability to reach orgasm and increased orgasm satisfaction, study authors found.

However, Viagra too comes with its associated side effects, researchers note. While 43 percent of the women taking Viagra reported headaches, only 27 percent in the placebo group complained.

Also, almost 25 percent of those taking Viagra reported hot flushes, whereas no such side effect was reported among the women on placebo.

37 percent of women taking Viagra reported nasal congestion as compared to only 6 percent of women on placebo. However conversely, nausea and anxiousness were reported more often in the group taking placebo,

Meanwhile, Pfizer, which manufactures Viagra, has no plans for seeking approval for expanding the drug’s use for treating female sexual dysfunction, the move can give a mammoth boost to the sales of the drug, which first became available a decade ago.

The researchers mark their outline on the observations of the study in the current edition of The Journal of the American Medical Association.