How testosterone patches are giving women a lust for life

Testosterone may be inextricably linked to masculinity, but in fact women have 10 times more of the hormone than oestrogen. Tomorrow, a testosterone patch will be launched that promises to restore the sex drives of women with low libido, a decade after Viagra was made available for the male population.

The female testosterone patch Intrinsa is the first treatment for women with low libido to be available on prescription. Where Viagra increases blood flow to the sex organs, Intrinsa is more subtle: by releasing a low, measured dose of testosterone into the bloodstream it stimulates thoughts about sex and increases a woman's energy levels. In short, it makes her feel sexy.

Up until now, the only female libido treatment available was a testosterone implant, and these were only given to women who had had their ovaries removed. The treatment had its drawbacks - dosage problems meant some patients experienced excess hair growth and acne. But Intrinsa's low-level hormone release represents a breakthrough that could, in theory, be prescribed to boost the sex drive of any post-menopausal woman.

Janice Rymer, a professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at St Thomas' Hospital in London, is to speak at the Intrinsa launch. She is keen to stress that the drug is only licensed as a libido-booster for women who have suffered premature menopause as a result of surgery - of whom there are one million in the UK alone. "I think the new patches will be absolutely marvellous," she says. "When you take out a woman's ovaries, you are removing one of [her] major sources of testosterone. If you take someone's ovaries out you should be thinking about oestrogen replacement and testosterone replacement."

Jane Hockey, a consultant gynaecologist at the Royal Free Hospital in London, adds: "Testosterone in women is linked to get up and go, [and] as a treatment it improves libido and general drive." But she warns: "You only replace that which you've lost. It's not going to make people more sexy and vibrant, and it's not about breeding a whole load of superwomen." One problem, she says, is that loss of libido after the menopause is not recognised as a problem. "People think libido should stop at 50 [anyway]."

There will be pressure from woman to prescribe Intrinsa "off-license", but Dr Hockey insists she will not be handing the patch out to just anyone. She says that any woman approaching her clinic who has not been through the menopause or had gynaecological surgery will have to undergo a detailed psychosexual analysis before being given a prescription. This includes questions about how they feel about their partner, and their sexual history. "It's not a quick fix for all sexual problems," she says.

While 900,000 men are thought to have tried Viagra, which was first licensed 10 years ago and was last year made available over the counter at pharmacists, some doctors are concerned that Intrinsa could be seen as a lifestyle drug. But consultant gynaecologist Professor John Studd believes it could have a wider use among women with sexual problems. He claims that hormone treatments can be much more effective - and cheaper - than lengthy psychosexual counselling and therapy sessions.

"Libido is not just due to hormones," he says. "I always say it's a mixture of heart, head and hormones. We can help the primary cause of a poor relationship by increasing energy levels, and I know patients who have never had orgasms in their lives who suddenly begin to have them regularly. There may be young women who for some reason do not have adequate libido or sexual response. Now, this can be corrected. [Intrinsa] does work, it is safe and easy to administer and I have no doubt it will be used by good doctors off-license."

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