“Female Viagra”: Know the controversies about the effectiveness of this drug

Everyone has heard about Viagra - the most famous blue pill in the world, indicated to treat male sexual impotence. Also, it is no secret that for many years the pharmaceutical industry has been working hard to develop a similar drug aimed at women.

And, as you might imagine, the interest in inventing such a drug is great. This is because, besides improving the quality of life of thousands of women around the planet, the financial motivation is undoubtedly gigantic. After all, conventional Viagra has been hitting annual sales of nearly $ 6 billion since 2003 - so imagine the commercial potential that exists here.

Complexities

The problem with developing a female Viagra is that the issues affecting women's sex lives are quite different - and more complex - than those affecting men. According to John Naish of the Daily Mail, male impotence is caused by problems such as impaired blood flow in the genital region - and Viagra works by improving that difficulty.

On the other hand, according to experts, women's desire increases and decreases in line with their emotional state and the quality of their affective relationships. Therefore, it is quite normal for women to experience decreased libido at some point in their lives.

Viagra for women

According to Naish, male Viagra was even tested on women by Pfizer - the laboratory that produces the drug - and although the researchers found an increase in blood flow in the female genital region, the drug had no effect on libido, nor did it. led to increased frequency of sex.

Another approach tested was the administration of testosterone - the male sex hormone - to women with low sex drive to increase their libido. However, although the proposal has worked in some cases, tests have shown that the use of this substance may have undesirable side effects, such as the appearance of some male characteristics, as well as an increased risk of thrombosis.

Brain activity

It is still unknown what mechanism determines the reduction of female sexual desire, but some research has revealed some important clues. In 2009, a study by Stanford University researchers found that women with this problem have less than normal activity in a brain region called the entorhinal cortex - involved in the storage of positive emotional memories.

Thus, the researchers speculate that women with low libido find it difficult to keep memories of pleasurable sex and thus cannot recall those memories to motivate them to have new encounters. In other words, the connection between the genital region and the brain in men and women is different, and their problem is not limited to the "mechanics" of the thing.

New drug

According to Naish, in 2010, the Boehringer Ingelheim laboratory presented to the FDA - US government agency equivalent to ANVISA here in Brazil - a drug called flibanserine. The drug was originally developed to treat depression but failed to demonstrate its effectiveness during clinical trials and was not approved for commercialization.

Later, the same lab re-introduced the drug to the US agency, only in the form of a drug to treat a lack of sexual desire in women. However, during clinical trials side effects such as drowsiness, sudden decrease in blood pressure and fainting were reported, especially when the medicine was combined with alcoholic beverages.

In addition, the effects during testing were so severe that one in six participants decided to discontinue use of flibanserin. Thus, it is not surprising that the release of the drug was unanimously denied by the FDA once again.

In 2013, drug use rights were eventually sold to the Sprout Pharmaceuticals laboratory. They insisted on the drug, and presented new results indicating that the side effects would probably not cause long-term harm to users. Thus, after so many comings and goings, the drug was finally approved by the FDA, and should soon be marketed under the trade name Addyi .

Controversies

Addyi, unlike Viagra, does not act on the genital region, but rather by changing the way women respond to serotonin and dopamine. In theory, the drug causes their brains to experience more feelings of pleasure during sex, and causes higher levels of serotonin and dopamine to enhance memories of pleasurable encounters, making women more likely to want to have more sex. .

However, to be effective, women must take the drug daily - even when they have no intention of having sex. And don't think the drug has a miraculous effect: clinical trials with couples who had sex between two and three times a month revealed that after flibanserine was given, the average number of encounters increased by only one over the same period.

Other labs are also trying to develop new drugs that work in women's brains, such as Palatin Technologies. In this case, they are conducting tests with a synthetic hormone called bremelanotide, which acts on the hypothalamus - an area of ​​the brain associated with memory and emotions.

This substance would work by activating a receptor that manufacturers believe would help arouse women's sexual desire through external stimuli, such as hearing the voice of their partners. However, according to Naish, as with Addyi, although the drug targets sexual desire, it disregards the fact that female libido is often determined by emotional life.

Therefore, according to some experts, Addyi's approval may lead to the popularization of a drug with dubious efficacy and potential problems with respect to safety of use. In addition, everything seems to indicate that more important than prescribing a remedy for lack of desire would be to help women understand the emotional issues that may be causing their lack of libido.