Treatment
The FDA has never approved a drug treatment for disorders of female libido, although several drugs have, in studies, proven efficacious.
Although the way in which female sexual arousal disorder and female orgasmic disorder are expressed shows a wide degree of variation, there is no evidence to suggest either that different factors contribute to the two disorders or that different treatment strategies should be used. In fact, the same treatment strategies are generally applied for both disorders. These strategies may need to be supplemented with additional techniques to resolve specific problems for individual women, but they are generally good starting points for resolving the issues that contribute to the development and maintenance of the sexual problem. Because the relationship between the woman and her partner has been shown to play a significant role in both the development and the maintenance of sexual problems, most programs are designed to be implemented by the couple, although there may also be additional strategies that focus on the individual. It is also quite important to differentiate it from hypoactive sexual desire disorder.
An existing drug, bremelanotide, has also been found to increase libido in 90% of subjects, and was being developed with the intention of selling as a treatment for female sexual arousal disorder. Bremelanotide (formerly PT-141) was in clinical tests using intranasal administration until 2007, but was found to have adverse effects on blood pressure in a subset of patients. In subsequent studies, a new subcutaneous delivery method appears not to have this problem, and the drug is currently undergoing a Phase 2 clinical trial to determine its effectiveness.
Apricus Biosciences is currently developing the product Femprox, a topical cream for the treatment of female sexual arousal disorder. It contains Prostaglandin E1 as the active ingredient and a permeation enhancer DDAIP which facilitates the delivery of the drug into the blood stream.
Read more about this topic: Female Sexual Arousal Disorder
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