15 April 2010
Washington, USA
Help’s at hand
A female equivalent of Viagra could soon be available to help women achieve the Big O, claim scientists.
A team working for Pfizer, the pharmaceutical firm behind Viagra, in Sandwich, Kent, has uncovered a substance that boosts female sexual arousal, increasing her chance of orgasm. The findings could pave the way for a drug similar in effect to Viagra, which has helped countless men.
In the study, using a novel prototype drug, researchers discovered more about the mechanisms underlying female sexual arousal. The researchers found that electrically stimulating the pelvic nerve increases blood flow to the genitalia, and that this effect was enhanced if they also gave a prototype drug (UK–414,495).
They believe the drug acts by blocking the breakdown of an internal chemical messenger that plays a key role in increasing blood flow during sexual arousal. When women become aroused, blood flow increases to the vagina, labia and clitoris. This causes the organs to swell, and the vagina to relax, as well as increasing vaginal lubrication and the sensitivity of the genitalia. Sexual arousal disorder affects up to 40% of women.
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