TESTOSTERONE PATCH BOOSTS WOMEN’S SEX LIVES.

A skin patch that boosts the “male” hormone testosterone markedly improves the sex lives of women suffering from a loss of sexual desire following the removal of their ovaries. An international team of researchers tested the patch in European and Australian women. Seventy-seven surgically menopausal women who were already on estrogen hormone replacement patches received either a 300 microgram testosterone patch every day, or a placebo. Established measures were then used to assess their levels of sexual desire and activity, as well as their general psychological state and feelings of distress. The results: those who received testosterone had 38% higher sexual desire scores compared with those on placebo, and total “satisfying sexual activity” increased by about 43%. The testosterone patch also significantly improved orgasm, sexual arousal, sexual responsiveness, sexual self-image and reduced the levels of distress. (Shaoni Bhattacharya, “Testosterone patch boosts women’s sex lives,” NewScientist, October 16, 2003, <http://www.newscientist .com/article.ns?id=dn4282> (July 29, 2005)).