Testosterone patches for female sexual dysfunction

Abstract

There is some suggestion of a link between sexual dysfunction in postmenopausal women and low circulating concentrations of testosterone.1 This underlies the development of a new transdermal testosterone patch (▼ Intrinsa – Procter & Gamble) that has recently been licensed in the UK for the treatment of women who have hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) following a menopause induced by surgery (i.e. bilateral salpingooophorectomy and hysterectomy) and who are receiving concomitant oestrogen replacement therapy.2 Here we discuss the diagnosis of HSDD, as well as the evidence for using transdermal testosterone patches in women in whom this diagnosis is made.