Doctors in the US have chimed in their astute analysis on a new female Viagra pill that's sweeping the nation. Some say the drug cures sexual dysfunction only minimally while others claim it works very well.
Dr. Steven Woloshin and Dr. Lisa Schwartz of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice doubt the US Food and Drug Administration's approval of Addyi, aka flibanserin. The health experts spoke their mind on the official JAMA Internal Medicine website.
"The FDA approved a marginally effective drug for a non-life-threatening condition in the face of substantial—and unnecessary—uncertainty about its dangers," read the article. "Women with distressing sexual desire problems need good treatments. We all need a drug approval process that delivers good decisions based on adequate evidence."
Addyi hit the market last October with a not so convincing label. Its container came with a note warning would-be users that the drug might cause fainting and low blood pressure to those who take certain drugs or drink alcoholic beverages.
Dr. Ellen T.M. Laan, a sexual health professor at the University of Amsterdam, shared to CBS News that the new female Viagra only boosts a woman's libido by a small margin. She said, "What we found was that women had on average 2.5 satisfying sexually events per month before entering the study and flibanserin added one half additional satisfying sexual events per month."
Dr. Lauren Streicher, a sexual medicine expert at the Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, told CNN that while Addyi isn't for every woman, many of her patients have reported positive results after taking the drug.
In an email to CNN, Oklahoma housewife Jodi Cole professed the effectivity of Addyi. She and her husband Matt weren't enjoying sex as much as they used, but that changed when she got hold of the pink pill.
In their defense, the FDA stated on the agency's official website that clinical testing on 2,400 women revealed that 10 percent more patients responded positively to Addyi than taking a placebo pill. The drug reportedly increases libido, lessens anxiety and heightens satisfaction during sex.
