A Yale study appearing in the October issue of The Journal of Reproductive Medicine reported that estrogen-androgen therapy improved sexual sensation and desire in post-menopausal women who were dissatisfied with estrogen treatment alone.

"These findings have significant implications for women who are taking hormone replacement therapy, particularly for long-term benefits," according to Dr. Philip Sarrel, professor of obstetrics and gynecology and of psychiatry at the School of Medicine, who was principal investigator for the study. The most common reasons women discontinue hormone replacement therapy (HRT) are failure of the treatment to meet the patient's needs and the therapy's side effects.

Twenty healthy post-menopausal women who were dissatisfied with their current estrogen treatment participated in a double-blind, randomized trial at Yale, held over the course of 12 weeks.

The study revealed that sexual function improved markedly with estrogen-androgen therapy, according to scores on several items of the Sexual Activity and Libido Scale. Statistically significant improvements were reported for combined ratings of sexual sensation and desire compared to the placebo group and previous treatment.

Androgen's important role.
In general, menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and sleep disturbance were well controlled throughout the study, says Sarrel, adding, "The study underscores the important role that androgen plays in the psychosexual function of women during menopause." Changes in sexual function may be related to decreasing production of androgens in peri- and post-menopausal women.

A survey by Sarrel revealed that loss of sexual desire was not being relieved in menopausal women taking estrogen alone. He found that there was almost no difference when women using HRT were compared to age-matched women not using HRT. Approximately 54 percent of women taking estrogen alone complained of loss of sexual desire versus 55 percent of untreated women.