Women's use of Viagra next project for research
Drug holds hope for those in menopause
The Boston Globe
This week, two Boston University researchers will begin the
second phase of one of the first U.S. studies on the effects
of Viagra on women.
Dr. Jennifer Berman, 34, a urologist, and her sister Laura,
29, a sex therapist, are conducting the two-year study of
women and Viagra.
"This is not a cure-all pill that is going to make a
marriage better, make someone happy or increase desire,"
Jennifer Berman said. "But what it does do is increase
sensation."
Berman is a protege of Dr. Irwin Goldstein, a professor of
urology at the Boston University School of Medicine and a
leading expert, on male impotence.
Preliminary research, the Bennans say, indicates Viagra may
increase the ability of many women to have pleasurable sex
and reach orgasm. If that's right, Viagra could
revolutionize the lives of millions of women.
"The early reports seem to indicate that a woman's sexual
problems seem to get better with Viagra," said Dr. Robert
Krane, chairman of the Boston University urology department.
But, Krane cautions, "It obvious it needs to be studied to
support that."
The second phase of the study, which will include about 100
women from across the nation, will include an evaluation at
Boston University and end for many in a prescription for
Viagra. The cost of participating ranges from $300 to $700.
Women capable of bearing children generally are excluded,
because it is not yet known how the drug affects fertility.
Additionally, the women will be required to periodically
complete surveys detailing their sexual behavior and
response. Thus far, about 36 have been enrolled for the
second phase, with others calling, writing and pleading for
appointments in the coming months. The study is the first
conducted by the new Women's Sexual Health Clinic at Boston
University. Jennifer Berman, director of the new center,
led the first phase of the study at the University of
Maryland at Baltimore.
Mary R., a 54-year-old graphic designer from Wakefield, is
hoping Viagra will allow her to experience orgasms again,
four years after a hysterectomy.
"It's sort of like cutting off your arm," she said. "You
are not the same person, you don't feel the same and you
feel a little less of a woman because you can't respond
enough to a physical relationship."
The drug's ability to increase blood flow to the penis and
remedy erictile dysfunction in some men may hold particular
implications for women, since the clitoris essentially is
the female version of the penis and becomes engorged with
blood during arousal. In addition, Viagra seems to help
women become aroused by relaxing the smooth muscles of the
vagina.
"For many years menopausal women have been written off,
because you are not supposed to want sex at an older age,"
Laura Berman said. "Tbe reason they are not interested in
sex is because sex is not pleasurable."
Sexual intercourse may be more painful, and the vagina more
difficult to lubricate.
Viagra also has inadvertently opened the door to more
medical interest and research into the mechanics of female
arousal, a subject traditionally considered a province of
psychology.
"Initially, we were met with resistance and jeers and
snickers; people were horrified," said Jennifer Berman, who
is financing the study in part through a grant from the
American Foundation of Urological Disease, "Nobody
understands female arousal. As long as you were able to
have intercourse and it didn't hurt, everybody thought
everything was OK."
One of the problems is that it is more difficult clinically
to measure female sexual arousal. And dysfunction in women
is harder to pinpoint, its causes trickier to define.
Researchers are still grappling with a basic question: Which
comes first, physical arousal or desire?
Since the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of
sildenafil citrate, or Viagra, for male impotence last
spring, doctors have been inundated with requests for the
drug, manufactured by Pfizer Inc. Launched April 10,
Viagra prescriptions through June 26 totaled 2.7 million,
pushing U.S. sales of the drug to $409 million its first
quarter in the market.
The pills, which are supposed to be swallowed 30 minutes to
one hour before the desired effect, retail for between $7
and $10 apiece. Many health-insurance companies will not
reimburse patients for costs associated with taking Viagra,
Side effects can include dizziness, flushing of the skin
and digestive difficulties. Also, some heart medications
can be deadly when combined with Viagra.
Pfizer has yet to conduct U.S. trials on the efficacy of the
drug on women, though it is conducting a trial on several
hundred women in Europe.
Until Pfizer has conclusive data supporting use of Viagra
for women, it is not advising them to take the medication.
But it seems women are obtaining Viagra through their
doctors, or from husbands with prescriptions.
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July 12, 1998
BOSTON - Those little blue pills may hold promise for women,
too.