Viagra Benefits Women on Antidepressants

Pfizer released Viagra in 1998 for men, and not long afterwards, Pfizer began to study its use for women. In a recent blog entry, editors at Health Science News discussed Viagra and women, the pros and cons of Viagra and women, in addition recently it has been revealed in other studies that documentation points to the success of Viagra in the female population.

Women With Depression Benefit from Viagra

Women who are suffering from depression may also have the unpleasant side effect of decreased libido. The women examined in these recent studies were in their pre-menopausal years and were also being treated for their depression with anti-depressant medication. It is important to note, however, that the women's depression was in remission.

Leading researcher of sexual medicine at the Alvarado Hospital, which is located in San Diego California, Dr. Goldstein has treated women by prescribing Viagra, and he noted that there are a lot of similarities between men and women regarding their sexual drive.

Study Reveals Hope for Women Who Suffer From Depression and Decreased Sex Drive

The study conducted separated women participants into two different groups, one group which was asked to take the drug Viagra up to two hours prior to sexual activity for a period of eight weeks. The second group of female study participants was given a placebo and both groups were tested.

At the conclusion of the study, it was discovered that over seventy percent of the women who were given Viagra showed increased sexual desire, while only twenty percent of the female participants who were given the placebo showed improvement.

Study Concludes - Testosterone the Key

Dr. Goldstein noted that the key is testosterone levels and as long as women do not have health issues with testosterone, the drug can help them combat reduced libido.

More Studies Back Up Goldstein's Findings

Yet another study, which was conducted in Italy on female diabetics, found similar results - that women with normal testosterone levels were helped with Viagra.

The Director of the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University, which focuses on Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction, Julia R. Heiman, found that sexual side consequences of antidepressants can make such an impact on women's lives that they actually discontinue their use, which can put them at risk for increased depression symptoms.

The study's findings revealed that Viagra could counteract the decreased sexual effects, said Dr. Andrew Leuchter, who is a leading professor of psychiatry at the UCLA medical center. Dr. Leuchter was not involved in the study.

Mixed Reviews

There are mixed reviews on the issue of Viagra and women’s use. A leading endocrinologist, who is chairman of the department of medicine at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, noted that Viagra could possibly not work as efficiently as it did in the studies. Real world results could be less prominent. And the side effects of women who use Viagra are not without notice. For example, some women who took the Viagra drug reported headaches or even flushing. Dr. Glenn Braustein noted that these effects could have affected the study because the participants might have realized that they had taken Viagra due to the side effects, and this realization could have affected their sexual performance.

Dr. Braustein noted that these studies are provocative and stated that he would like to see more studies that could confirm the same results in larger groups of women.

Consult a Professional

Women should be cautioned that rather than asking their partner for a Viagra pill, they should instead consult with a professional if they are considering the pros and cons of Viagra.

For further reading:

• http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-viagra23-2008jul23,0,2061531.story

Viagra and Women - Health Issues Investigated

Viagra and Women's Health

Not often is there a medication introduced to the public that has such fast market growth as the drug Viagra. Pfizer's drug, Viagra, was introduced in 1999 and quickly became one of the most widely prescribed medications of our time. But until recently, its use was limited to males.

In the past few weeks, however, The Journal of American Medical Association released a publication, which studied the erectile-dysfunction drug and stated that Viagra use in women can lessen unfavorable sexual effects that may result from antidepressants.

And as expected, the sales of Viagra, which have pretty much remained stale for almost a decade, could increase after the news of this revelation was released to the public.

Researchers Probe Viagra Use For Women

The doctors who conducted the query, from the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, deduce that antidepressant regime-associated sexual dysfunction occurs in nearly thirty to seventy percent of patients who are seeking help for major depression. The JAMA passage said it is credible that no trial study has proven an adequate treatment for women suffering from sexual dysfunction resulting from antidepressant drugs.

And researchers revealed that comparatively twenty-eight percent of the women who were administered Viagra showed no improvement, likewise seventy-three percent of women taking a placebo. The study showed no grave adverse effects, however it was noted that up to forty-three percent of the women who took Viagra complained of headaches. Researchers stated that this was worrisome.

The authors recognized women suffer from excessive depressive disorder at almost double the rate of men and also suffer more subsequent sexual dysfunction. The researchers noted that by focusing treatment on the treatment-associated issue it could reduce the likelihood of these women prematurely discontinuing the medication use and increase the possibility of improving the depression disease management.

Pfizer, the world's largest drug producer when measured by sales worldwide, has been battling substantial generic competition that exists for its most widely purchased drugs.

What Can Cause Women's Lack of Sexual Interest?

A woman's deficient sexual enthusiasm is frequently tied to her relationship with her companion, according to Sandra Lieblum, who is the professor for sexual and marital health at the UMDNJ Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Piscataway, N.J. Lieblum states that women's sexual desire lies in the area between her ears. While men need an occasion for having sex — women need a reason and this evokes the importance of sexual interest for women. But disinterest in sex for women can also be set in motion by family concerns, sickness or death, monetary or job worries, childcare roles, managing a career and children, prior or existing physical and emotional abuse, tiredness and sadness.

Actually, female sexual dysfunction is more often than not psychologically, instead of physically established. Women's desire to have sex is often not due to genital arousal, according to Cindy Meston, assistant professor of clinical psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. Meston continues by stating that she does not think there is an aphrodisiac that will shape women's desire to have sex all of the time.

Physical Issues That Reduce Women's Sexual Desire

Lieblum at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey also stated that the causes could be physical, such as hypertension, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, thyroid disorders, neurological diseases and autoimmune disorders like lupus can all evoke a reduction in women's neglect of sexual desire. Additional factors fall under the umbrella of prescriptions drug usage, above all anti-hypertensive and depression medication, including over-the-counter medications and illegal drugs and alcohol misusage.

Is the Use of Viagra by Women Oversimplified?

At New York University School of Medicine, psychologist Leonore Tiefer stated that "industry-funded" studies such as this might oversimplify a women's sexual desire. She stated that the new investigation, which was funded by a Pfizer grant, discovered more side effects than benefits.

Other Studies Involving Antidepressants and Sexual Desire

A previously conducted study involving men who follow an antidepressant regimen discovered more pronounced sexual benefits with Viagra than the benefits found for women, according to senior study author Dr. George Nurnberg, who is a leading psychiatrist at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine in Albuquerque.

But the point is that both men and women who require antidepressants and suffer from sexual disinterest may benefit from Viagra, he said. Nurnberg continued that this issue is not about a lifestyle need, but instead about a medical necessity. The drug company, Pfizer, had little or no influence on the design or results of the study, according to Nurnberg. He and many of the other authors disclosed financial ties to Pfizer and varied drug makers.

Women, Antidepressants and Viagra

Women who suffer from sexual side effects during an antidepressant regimen are nearly three times more likely to abruptly stop taking SRIs, serotonin reuptake inhibitors, as are other women on these antidepressants, earlier research showed. And women who participated in the new study continued with their regimen of SRI antidepressants during the eight-week test period. Some SRIs consist of medications such as Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Lexapro, Celexa and Anafranil.

Study Reviews Mixed

Clinical psychologist and director of the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University, Julia Heiman, noted that this study was somewhat small with important but moderate effects. It doesn't disclose a broad new prototype for women who have sexual troubles. Within this group of women, this avenue could be somewhat helpful, and could be sufficient to make a change.

Pink Viagra and Women's Health

Meantime, various other studies persist to search for a "pink Viagra," centering on women's prescription usage for testosterone patches, a combination estrogen-testosterone dosage of an antidepressant that acts differently from the SRIs.

If you have questions about women and Viagra, consult your physician for a more detailed health analysis.

Stress and Pregnancy

Public awareness of stress and pregnancy has taken a center stage in recent months due to increased awareness of health issues related to developmental disorders. Recent studies conducted at Harvard Medical School indicate that a mother's stress during pregnancy may affect the health of the baby.

Anxiety During Gestation

If an expectant mother is exposed to high levels of anxiety, her baby may be more likely to develop asthma or allergies later in life. Babies born to mothers experiencing high levels of stress had more IgE in their blood at birth than did babies born to less-stressed moms. IgE is a class of antibody entangled in allergic and asthmatic reactions.

Some studies have shown a greater risk of miscarriage late in the first trimester and more birth defects if there has been severe anxiety in early gestation. Some of these findings are unreliable, though, because the patients were asked about stressors after they already knew about their complications, which probably led to what is called recall bias--meaning that you're more like to remember an early stressor if you had an overall bad experience.

At the unequivocal level, stress during certain periods of gestation has been linked to autism. Dr. Beversdorf, a neurologist at OSU Medical Center, and his colleagues believe their research supports earlier animal studies that suggest that anxiety during specific periods in the term may lead to structural changes in the brain that have been linked to autism in children. Autism is a neurological disorder that usually presents itself early in a child's life. Autistic children have trouble communicating and interacting with other people. Autism is treatable, but with many disorders, it is important that treatment begin early. Therefore, an early diagnosis is crucial.

Help for Women Who Experience Anxiety

Many researchers are taking this to a higher level by discussing what can be done to help pregnant mothers who experience a crisis and how general health can be improved for these women.

Take a close look at your lifestyle. Make yourself do this on paper. Pay closer attention to the obligations you have committed yourself to, your work activities, home and family responsibilities. Then you can determine how realistic your plan is. It is critical that you include in your schedule time for yourself for important activities such as exercise, down time, and socializing. Once you have done this, be straightforward with yourself as you ask yourself: Is this routine achievable? Sustainable? Satisfying? If not, accept the reality that you have to alter the schedule.

Consult a Health Care Professional

If you or a loved one is experiencing concern due to stress and pregnancy, it is highly recommended that a health care professional be consulted. A health care plan can be organized in order to manage difficulties more effectively and adjustments can be made to reduce the outside variables which may be harmful to your developing fetus. Learning how to relax is an important aspect of enjoying a healthy pregnancy.

Researchers Uncover the Benefit of Exercise over Hormones for Menopausal Women

Researchers at Temple University in Philadelphia have hoped to prove that exercise is less risky than hormone replacement therapy for menopausal women, but were unable to find a relationship between exercise and hot flashes.

However, the study was able to show that exercise led to lowered stress levels among postmenopausal women.

Exercise Can Reduce Stress, Anxiety and Depression in Postmenopausal Women

Although the relationship between reduced hot flashes and exercise was not proven, the results of the research are significant because hot flashes in menopausal women have been seen as a temporary problem, while women who are postmenopausal live a long time and often struggle with stress, anxiety and depression.

Small Amounts of Exercise Help

One surprising outcome of the study is that the reduced stress levels were caused by small amounts of exercise. In other words, women who are postmenopausal and dealing with the unfortunate side effects of stress and anxiety can reduce those affects with a moderate exercise routine that they can incorporate into their daily life.

Interestingly, researchers found that extreme exercise regimens actually had the outcome of increasing stress for these women. But that could have been because the women tested were heavier and had lower hormone levels. Moderate exercise regimens seemed to provide greater stress reduction for the group of black women.

Hot Flashes? What Hot Flashes?

Although exercise had little effect on hot-flashes, the interesting point is that while women participated in a moderate but consistent exercise regimen, they seemed to care less about hot flashes. Women seem to just deal with them better while working on a healthy exercise plan.

The mental benefits of exercise for postmenopausal women are an important finding because the lack of estrogen leads to an increase in stress, anxiety and depression.

Consult Your Doctor

Consult your doctor before starting any new diet or exercise program. He or she knows your medical history and will be able to determine if your exercise program will help your menopausal symptoms to improve.

More Information on Menopause

For more information on menopause, please visit the Women's Health network: http://www.womenshealth.gov/faq/menopaus.htm

Studies Attempt to Better Understand and Control PMS Symptoms

For centuries, medical science dismissed the notion that women's menstrual cycles could cause significant mental and physical distress. Complaints of bloating, moodiness, discomfort, anxiety, and depression related to menstruation were dismissed as little more than psychosomatic flights of fancy, and women who reported such problems to their physicians were often unfairly labeled as hysterical hypochondriacs.

Today, decades of research have proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the complex of physical and emotional symptoms now referred to collectively as premenstrual syndrome (or, more popularly, PMS) do, in fact, exist. For the first time in history, women who suffer as a result of their menstrual cycles are getting the help and information they need to overcome this very real health challenge.

However, in spite of the significant progress that has been made towards understanding PMS in recent years, this condition is so complicated that the hope of happening upon a simple, universally-effective 'cure' is not really feasible. Because each woman's premenstrual symptoms differ so drastically, the challenge of devising experiments whose results will help the female population as a whole has proven to be a daunting task.

Despite these difficulties, researchers all over the world continue to work diligently to unlock the mysteries of PMS. This week, we will take a look at some of the most notable findings that have emerged from this field of study over the last several months.

Traditional Chinese Herbs May Be Effective as Treatment for Menstrual and PMS Symptoms

Long before PMS was recognized as a valid diagnosis in the world of Western medicine, Chinese healers had concocted herbal remedies to help ease the discomfort of premenstrual and menstrual symptoms.

While some might dismiss herbal remedies as nothing more than old wives' tales, a recent study conducted by Australian scientists at the Centre for Complementary Medicine Research at the University of Western Sydney have found that these traditional cures are actually effective against PMS symptoms and menstrual cramps.

In an extensive round of almost forty clinical trials, herb mixtures that were created using the system of traditional Chinese medicine were prescribed to women of childbearing age who had already been diagnosed by their doctors as suffering from menstruation-related discomfort. The herb blends included compounds such as angelica root (danggui), white peony root (baishao), nut-grass rhizome (xiangfu), Chinese motherwort (yimucao), red peony root (chishao), fennel fruit (huixiang), liquorice root (gancao), Szechuan lovage root (chuanxiong), and cinnamon bark (rougui).

Not only were many of the study participants' menstruation-related symptoms eased by these herbs, but a majority of the women in the study reported that they also continued to experience less discomfort for up to three cycles after the conclusion of the study. The researchers concluded that this option may offer a viable alternative treatment for menstruation-related problems, especially for women for whom hormone-based treatment is not beneficial.

Birth Control Pill that Limits Menstruation May Help PMS Symptoms

For decades, hormonal birth control pills have been used as a way to help regulate menstrual cycles for women who experienced difficulties and irregularities. However, the new generation of hormonally-based birth control pills -- many of which limit or wholly suppress the normal monthly menstrual cycle -- may go beyond that by reducing a number of common premenstrual symptoms.

In a study conducted by a laboratory associated with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, women who took a menstruation-suppressing form of the birth control pill reported fewer PMS symptoms than usual. The most significant areas of improvement were reported in mood, behavior, and discomfort. Menstruation-related symptoms, including menstrual cramps, were reported to be reduced by as much as 85%, as well.

Although hormonal birth control pills are associated with some level of unavoidable risk and are not appropriate for all women, the researchers contended that this form of treatment may help diffuse PMS symptoms for the millions of women who suffer from these problems.

Genetic Component May Impact Women's Tendency to Develop PMS

While a great deal of research attention has been focused on developing treatments for premenstrual symptoms in recent years, other scientists have sought to uncover more information about the root causes of these disorders.

As more progress has been made in the effort to decode and document the human gene sequence, researchers who study women's reproductive health have begun to assess whether genetic factors could play a role in PMS and other menstruation-related problems. One recent study conducted by scientists at the National Institutes of Health and several prominent research universities seems to indicate that PMS and its more severe counterpart, PMDD, are both affected by genetic factors.

Among a group of study participants who had been previously diagnosed with severe PMS and/or PMDD, the research team identified a number of key variations in the estrogen receptor alpha gene. The women whose genes had these unique properties were far more likely to experience severe premenstrual and menstruation-related symptoms, including weight gain, irritability, depression, mood swings, anger, headaches, and others.

While the researchers caution that more investigation is necessary to confirm their findings, they also confirm that identifying the genetic factor involved in PMS and PMDD may present an avenue for the development of more effective treatments in the future.

If your PMS symptoms are uncontrolled, they may negatively impact your health, well-being, and quality of life. Consult with your doctor to develop a PMS treatment plan that is tailored to your unique needs. Please be sure to check back each week for more of the latest news from the world of health research.