The first Viagra for women will probably finally be approved in the United States. BBC News reports that US government experts have voted in favor of allowing it to be used.
Efforts to register flibanserin, a drug called Viagra for women, have been carried out since 2010. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has twice, however, rejected an application by the manufacturer of this preparation in this case. The main reason was that the medicine was not effective, and side effects such as tiredness and fainting.
This time, flibanserin may be registered, as the opinion of the advisory panel has not yet been taken into account by the FDA. Dr. Julia Heiman of the Kinsey Institute Indiana University says that even a modest effectiveness of flibanserin can “make a significant difference” in some cases.
One patient, Amanda Parrish, who has taken the drug in clinical trials, argues that the drug can help some women restore the joy of enjoying sex and even save a relationship. This is true for women who are not sexually driven.
Not all specialists agree with this. Dr. Adriane Fugh-Berman of Georgetown University told the New York Times that the drug was useless and harmful to women.
Flibanserin is intended for premenopausal women who complain of the so-called low sex drive syndrome (HSDD), commonly known as sexual frigidity. Women who suffer from it do not have sexual thoughts and fantasies, they also react poorly to erotic stimuli and it is difficult to arouse them.
The drug was initially tested as another drug useful in the treatment of depression. Its main component, flibanserin, increases the concentration of serotonin, a brain neurotransmitter that affects well-being. Unfortunately, the research was unsuccessful. Flibanserin turned out to be a poor antidepressant, but some of the women tested were noticed that they wanted sex more.
This was surprising as antidepressants tend to lower the sex drive, which is usually low anyway due to the disease. Only the research of Franco Borsini from the Italian pharmaceutical laboratory Sigma-Tau showed that, in addition to serotonin, flibanserin also acts on the receptors of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that affects the feeling of pleasure. And feeling pleasure is also related to a better attitude towards sex.