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Women's Sexual Health
Last month
we covered general research regarding female and male sexual health.
This month we will be focusing on women’s sexual health.
More information is coming to light in regard to
female sexual dysfunction (FSD). The risk factors for women are
cardiovascular disease, neurologic disease, endocrine failure,
hypertension and smoking. Men have the same risks. Sexual dysfunction in
both sexes can be age-related and progressive.
There are four classifications that are new and
fairly controversial for diagnosing FSD. The first is hypoactive sexual
desire, in which there is a lack of sexual thoughts and/or receptivity
to sexual stimuli. The second is sexual arousal disorder, in which there
is poor vaginal lubrication, decreased genital sensation and poor
vaginal smooth muscle relaxation. This disorder is often physiological
and results from medications, pelvic disorders, or neural and peripheral
vascular disease. The third is orgasmic disorder, in which there is a
persistent or recurrent loss of orgasmic potential after sufficient
sexual stimulation. This may come about after having pelvic surgery or
suffering from a spinal cord injury. The fourth is sexual pain disorder,
which consists of persistent or recurrent genital pain associated with
non-coital sexual stimulation.
Many women think FSD is a normal part of life and
an inevitable part of childbirth, aging or menopause. FSD is a physical
problem, but because of the delicate nature of this topic, it may become
a psychological one if women are afraid to broach the subject with their
significant others.
When a woman is in good sexual health, arousal
occurs when there is an increase of pelvic blood flow, resulting in
vaginal lubrication. Nitric oxide plays a role in stimulating clitoral
cavernosal smooth muscle, thereby increasing clitoral blood flow and
resulting in genital engorgement.
While men can turn to pharmaceuticals to aid sexual
dysfunction--such as sildenafil citrate, otherwise known as Viagra--women
cannot. In fact, one recent study indicated that in doses of 10 mg to
100 mg, the pharmaceutical not only did not improve sexual response in
women, but resulted in adverse events including headache, nausea and
indigestion.
L-arginine, coupled with yohimbe in particular, has
been found to make a difference in FSD. When researchers from the
University of Texas, Austin, gave 24 postmenopausal women with the
disorder a one-time dose of 6 g of L-arginine glutamate along with 6 mg
yohimbe HCl, the supplements substantially increased vaginal pulse
amplitude responses to an erotic film 60 minutes after administration.
Clinical studies indicate that approximately 45
percent of women between the ages 30 to 45 are seeking stimulating
agents to increase their libido--it is possible their sexual desire is
diminished due to the stressful lifestyle many women now lead.
For FSD related to stress, relaxation techniques
include using various herbs. Results of a study conducted out of the
University of Surrey in Guildford, England, indicated that standard
dosages of kava and valerian may reduce physiological reactivity such as
blood pressure during stressful situations. In a lab animal study, St.
John's wort protected against physiological effects of unavoidable
stress.
According to researchers at Vancouver Hospital,
Canada, when a deficiency in estrogen is involved in a lack of sexual
pleasure, estrogen replacement has been shown to be beneficial. As a
result, phytoestrogens may be one avenue to go. These natural products
may particularly aid menopausal women who are experiencing problems with
sexual function. Usually, hormone or estrogen replacement therapies (HRT,
ERT) have been the traditional treatment for attempting to alleviate
this age-related problem. In fact, for vaginal atrophy associated with
menopause, ERT has been found to play a beneficial role, in addition to
decreasing coital pain and improving clitoral sensitivity.
Natural estrogen alternatives such as black cohosh,
chaste tree berry, dong quai and witch hazel may also aid conditions
such as vaginal dryness and dyspareunia. In one study conducted by
researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, six months of phytoestrogen
supplementation significantly lessened vaginal dryness by the final week
of the study.
Researchers out of Sevilla, Spain, highlighted the
phytoestrogen soy's isoflavones for sexual health. After 190
postmenopausal women were given 35 mg of isoflavones split into two
daily doses for four months, they experienced a significant decrease in
vaginal dryness, an improvement in libido and an alleviation of
depression--all factors in sexual well-being.
Sometimes, FSD is not caused by estrogen problems,
but rather by deficiencies of another hormone--androgen. Androgen levels
decline substantially as a woman enters her menopausal years. When women
with FSD were given androgen replacement therapy in the form of
dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), they reported an increase in desire,
arousal, lubrication and orgasm. However, side effects included
increased facial hair and weight gain.
As you can see by the latest studies on FSD, there
is a considerable amount of natural products available to help women.
Maybe it is best that there are no pharmaceutical drugs currently
available for female sexual dysfunction.
Next month we will cover male sexual health.
Health Research Topics
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