03 March 2012
FLIBANSERIN IS ACTUALLY AN ANTIDEPRESSANT
Flibanserin is marketed in the USA for quite some years as an antidepressant medicine. In 2010, it was rejected by the FDA as a medicine against women's lack of satisfaction with their sex life. But the medicine is still pushed on the internet as a female Viagra.
It could be a coincidence. But in early 2012 an scientific paper (1) was published, which showed that Flibanserin has a great effect on Italian women's sexual satisfaction.
And maybe by the same coinciddence another scientific paper (2) published in March 2012 concluded that many women with headache and/or migraine think their intercourses are dissatisfactory.
In the latter publication there were around 20% dissatisfied migraineurs without aura, around 35% dissatisfied migraineurs with aura, and around 40% dissatisfied with women with tension headache. A total of 100 women were included, and there was no control group. Among the 100 women 53 had migraine without aura, 15 had migraine with aura, 13 har tension headache and 19 had a combination of tension headache and migraine. The paper ended in this recommendation: Our results suggest that sexual function should be routinely assessed in specialized headache centers.
A similar survey was made in Boston in 2009 (3). Here the women were between 30 and 70 years old and were selected at random, and did not suffer from chronic diseases. So they may be seen as a suitable control group. Among white women 38% were 'dissatisfied' or 'very dissatisfied' with their intercourses. There are presumably cultural differences between women in Boston and Italy (even though a large proportion of the Bostonians have Italian roots), so the results may not be entirely commensurable. But may still be an indication. Women with the headache (/ migraine) are no more dissatisfied with their sex life than women without headache.
Nevertheless, the article about the Italian women recommends that sexual (dys)function should be routinely assessed in Specialized Headache centers.
Rigmor Jensen (Leading Danish headache and migraine espert) from the Danish Center for Headache is mentioned in the acknowledgements as an adviser in the Italian survey.
Flibanserin is produced and marketed by Boehringer Ingelheim, but is not marketed in Denmark for the moment.
Is it really a coincidence that the Italian survey (without a control group) encourages our doctors to include sexual problems in their assessments of female headache/migraine sufferers, at the same time as a scientific paper is published thatshows that Flibanserin has an effect on sexual dissatisfaction?
There seems to be no limits for how research doctors think they can make migraineurs take antidepressant medicine!
(1) Thorp J, Simon J, Dattani D, Taylor L, Kimura T, Garcia Jr M, Lesko L, Pyke R: On behalf of the DAISY trial investigator, 2012. Treatment of Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder in Premenopausal Women: Efficacy of Flibanserin in the DAISY Study. J Sex Med. 9, 793-804.
(2) Nappi RE, Terreno E, Tassorelli C, Sance G, Allen M, Guaschino E, Antonaci F, Albani F, Polatti F., 2012. Sexual Function and Distress in Women Treated for Primary Headache in a Tertiary University Center. Sex Med. 9, 761-769
(3) Karen E. Lutfey, Carol L. Link, Raymond C. Rosen, Markus Wiegel and John B. McKinlay, 2009. Prevalence and Correlate of Sexual Activity and Functionin Women: Results from the Boston Area Community Health (BACH) Survey. Arch Sex Behav 38, 514-527.
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Velkommen til Annes blog. Jeg skriver om hvordan det er at have migræne, og alligevel være travl og aktiv, og også lidt om hvilke tanker jeg gør mig som formand for Migrænikerforbundet.
GIGANTERNES KAMP I VIDENSKABELIGE TIDSSKRIFTER
RECEPTFRI TRIPTANER?
ET OVERSET FÆNOMEN BLANDT MIGRÆNIKERE?
VENLIGE HILSNER GØR DET SKØNT AT VÆRE FORMAND
ILDSJÆLENE FÅR MIGRÆNIKERFORBUNDET TIL AT FUNGERE
HVAD KOSTER DET AT SIGE NEJ?
TAL ER VIDENSKABENS VERSEFØDDER
MIGRÆNE FÅR JORDEN TIL AT FLYTTE SIG UNDER MINE FØDDER
VI ER VIST ALLE ENIGE - FOR EN GANGS SKYLD
