BEIJING, July 23 (Xinhuanet) -- Viagra, a
popular drug that turns around the sex lives of many older men, now may help
women on antidepressants have better sex, U.S. media reported on Wednesday.
They found women on antidepressants who took Viagra had fewer sexual side effects than those who took
a placebo. Sexual dysfunction can prompt many people to stop taking drugs to
treat depression.
Up to 70% of men and women who take antidepressants
for major depression experience sexual dysfunction, according to an article in
Tuesday Journal of the American Medical Association.
Sexual dysfunction is linked with most commonly used
antidepressants, including selective and nonselective serotonin reuptake
inhibitors. These drugs represent 90 percent of the 180 million antidepressant
prescriptions filled in the United States each year, according to the
researchers.
The researchers studied 98 women with an average age
of 37 who had symptoms of sexual dysfunction, including delay of orgasm or lack
of arousal, and whose depression was in remission after treatment with
antidepressants.
Women took a dose of Viagra or the placebo one to two
hours before anticipated sexual activity for eight weeks.
72% of women who took Viagra saw their symptoms
improve, compared with 27% of women who took
placebos.
(Agencies)
