The Testosterone Boost

An international study showed testosterone, when used with no other hormone therapy, is an effective treatment for low libido in postmenopausal women. More than 800 women from 65 centers in the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and Sweden participated in the study, the first to show that testosterone administered by a skin patch can boost sex drive in postmenopausal women.

Previous studies have shown testosterone treatment for low libido is beneficial for women undergoing estrogen therapy. However, this study shows testosterone by itself could be a good alternative for women who do not want to take estrogen.

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Glenn Braunstein, M.D., chairman of the Department of Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, is a primary investigator of the study and a co-author of an article in the New England Journal of Medicine. He is an expert in endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism, with a major research focus on androgen physiology in women and androgen treatment of women.