Benefits of Testosterone in Women

Female sexual dysfunction (FSD) has been reported in 43% of women, but this number shrinks when the enquiry is about whether sexual dysfunction actually bothers the women. Nevertheless, reduced libido is a real problem for some women, and androgen (testosterone) replacement is often the recommended treatment if a deficiency can be shown.

Availability of testosterone in a skin patch formulation allows it to be used without many of the more serious side effects that can occur if it’s given orally or by injection. An endocrinologist at Massachusetts General Hospital has reported a clinical study with testosterone patches in 50 women with deficiency of the normally small amounts of the hormone. Half the women got testosterone and the others had placebo (dummy) patches. The study lasted a year.

Special x-rays showed that there was significantly improved bone mineral density after one year in the testosterone group; for example, hip density was increased 1%, while the placebo patients’ density fell 1%.

Muscle mass increased 7% with testosterone, but only 1.5% with placebo.

Overall mood, sexual function, and overall better sexual experiences were significantly improved with testosterone, compared with placebo.

However, there was local irritation from the patches (both testosterone and placebo) in many of the women, severe enough in 6% for them to stop the study.

This study shows the benefits of testosterone patches in women with a demonstrated deficiency of the hormone. It may lead to requests for it to be prescribed by women with sexual problems even when they don’t have a hormone deficiency. This would be a mistake, as the long-term safety of such hormone use hasn’t been shown, yet. Remember what happened with other HRT in women, many years after the drugs were first introduced. . .