TESTOSTERONE REVIVES A WOMAN'S LIBIDO
Report #7164
The male hormone, testosterone, can heighten sexual desire in postmenopausal women.
A study from the Karolinska Hospital in Sweden shows that a middle-aged woman's interest in making love is related to her blood level of male hormones and not her female ones (1). A young girl's first sexual experience and first masturbation are associated with a rise in blood levels of her male hormones, not her female ones (2). A woman's blood level of male hormones drops as she ages (3). Like older men, older women with low blood levels of male hormones are more likely to suffer reduced sexual desire and can benefit from taking male hormones (4,5). The male hormone, testosterone is converted in the body to the more active dihydrotestosterone. Women most likely to lose interest in lovemaking at the time of the menopause are those with higher blood levels of dihydrotestosterone (6), the hormone that causes women to have darker hairs on their bodies and faces and larger muscles and bones. These women are most likely to increase their sexual desire when they are given male hormones (7). While the female hormone, estrogen, does not increase sexual desire, a study from Sweden shows that it improves vaginal lubrication and helps prevent pain during intercourse (7). Testosterone can help postmenopausal women who are bothered by reduced interest in lovemaking. If you are in a healthful relationship and are not overworked or sick, your doctor may prescribe testosterone gel.
By Gabe Mirkin, M.D., for CBS Radio News
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Kennedy, Univ Leicester, Leicester Royal Infirm, Dept Obstet & Gynaecol, POB 65,
Leicester LE2 7LX, Leics, England. 7) J Nathorstboos, I Wiklund, LA Mattsson, K Sandin, B Vonschoultz. Is Sexual Life
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Reported 7/23/97; updated 9/5/05