LOS ANGELES, July 25 (UPI) -- Researchers say a testosterone patch may produce some increase in sexual desire among women experiencing low sexual desire following hysterectomy.
The researchers said diminished sexual desire has been reported by 30 percent to 50 percent of women who undergo surgical menopause.
Lead researcher Dr. Glenn Braunstein of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and his colleagues conducted a 24-week, randomized, double blind, multi-center clinical trial in women who developed distressful low sexual desire after surgical menopause and were receiving oral estrogen therapy.
Changes in sexual desire and frequency were determined by the participants' reports on a standardized questionnaire and sexual function activity log.
The researchers found that compared with women receiving placebo, women receiving 300 micrograms of testosterone daily had greater increases from baseline in questionnaire scores for sexual desire compared with those receiving a placebo.
"These findings ... highlight the important role that testosterone may play in women's sexual health," the authors concluded.
The study appears in the July 25 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
