Recent Developments in Psychopharmaceutical Approaches to Treating Female Sexual Interest and Arousal Disorder.
Both. Stephanie S
Key Findings
- Flibanserin is the first FDA‑approved pill for low sexual desire in pre‑menopausal women.
- New candidates in development include testosterone + sildenafil, testosterone + buspirone, bremelanotide (PT‑141), BP101, and nasal testosterone (TBS‑2).
- Clinical effects of these drugs, including PT‑141, appear limited in size and may not be enough on their own.
Practical Outcomes
- For self‑experimenters, PT‑141 may offer a small boost in sexual responsiveness, but expectations should be modest. It is not a stand‑alone solution; pairing any drug with behavioral or sex‑therapy techniques is likely needed for meaningful results. Safety and dosing data are still emerging, so cautious, low‑dose trialing with medical oversight is advisable.
Summary
The review says that a few drugs, including the peptide bremelanotide (also called PT-141), are being tested to help women who have low sexual desire, but the benefits seen so far are modest and probably need to be combined with therapy.
Abstract
This review summarizes the recent literature and empirical studies on psychopharmacological approaches to treating female sexual interest/arousal disorder (FSIAD). Several new drugs for FSIAD that are intended to increase sexual responsiveness by influencing central excitatory and inhibitory neuromodulatory processes are under development. Studies on flibanserin resulted in the first approved medication for the treatment of low sexual desire in premenopausal women. New drugs under development are testosterone combined with sildenafil or buspiron, bremelanotide, BP101, and nasal testosterone (TBS-2). Although pharmacological enhancement of sexual responsiveness may be potentially helpful in the treatment of FSIAD, the observed effects of flibanserin and other new drugs under development seem limited in terms of clinical significance. Given the multifactorial character of FSIAD, it may be important to integrate psychopharmacological treatment with sex therapy for optimal treatment efficacy.
Study Information
pubmed
2017
2017-10-19T00:00:00.000Z
10.1007/s11930-017-0124-3
14
42