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Last year I wrote here about the Aphrodite study, which was of a testosterone patch for the ladies, that would let them have one more orgasm a month, as long as you weren’t perturbed by the possibility of growing a beard. Apparently the FDA wasn’t impressed with that either, as they didn’t approve. Steve Nissen, MD, who was on that FDA committee, didn’t comment on the latest pill to come along for the ladies, even though it, too, has the dubious value of adding one more “sexually rewarding event” per month.
The hype these spin mesiters of the pharmaceutical world are trying to spin is related to what is described in the DSM as hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD). And they are rolling out a big media campaign to try and generate interest in this “under-diagnosed condition”. The new wonder drug, Flibanserin (an alternative to the headache lie is suggested by this name, perhaps?), a 5-HT1A receptor agonist and 5-HT2A receptor antagonist, is being rolled out by Boehringer Ingelheim as a new treatment for HSDD. They’ve got pitch people in the front organization Society for Women’s Health Research, including Dr. Laura Berman and Lisa Rinna (below), a sopa opera star who claims she isn’t horny enough. and wants to take a crack at that pill.
I bet her partner doesn't fart too much
Lisa’s trick was taking an, um… pole dancing class. At least it isn’t drug related. I guess she feels that those fat slobs somewhere East of Hollywood need the pharmaceutical solution, though.
Maybe the ladies aren’t getting turned on by their fells cuz they fart too much, or have gotten fat, or don’t take out the garbage, or say denigrating things and don’t make them feel valued.
Maybe they should make a pill for the husbands.
In any cause this is disease mongering with the goal of making profits, if I’ve ever seen it before.
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At this point the disease mongering has gotten so ridiculous I just have to laugh.
Now we just need something for PE (premature ejacuation). That way there can be parity between the sexes. She can say “I’ll take my HSDD pill if you take your PE pill.” or even “I won’t need my HSDD pill if you take your PE pill.”
@Joseph that will be a renaming of an SSRI that is still on patent. Like the renaming of buproprion for smoking cessation
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Women just need partners who aren’t so selfish. Men tend to think only of their own orgasm …. unless they work for a drug company.
They already use SSRIs for premature ejaculation… And in fact almost marketed them for that… Because they kill mojo, get it?
I read that you would only need 9 subjects to do a clinical trial showing that Paxil works for PE. A lot easier than the thousands you need to show that it works for depression, LOL.
She probably numbed up the entire body when receiving the implants and botox lips! Oh wait, is that Brooke Shields in an eyelash plumping mascara ad? using mascara with an ingredient from a defunct drug with side effects of growing eyelashes?
Ka-ching!
I know the lips are really something. She is almost approaching the look of the Hollywood hooker Heidi Fleiss whose injected lips make her look like an absolute monster! I think she is on the Celebrity Rehab show. I would really hate to live in Hollywood. It must be so much pressure on how you look.
My attempt at making light of this really didn’t blunt my anger so I’m going to express some of that.
What pisses me off is that the reasons for “HSDD” and well as “depression” and “anxiety” are largely socioeconomic. When my patient is a mom struggling to ends meet with a couple of kids and whose husband is working for an obnoxious employer and is emotionally exhausted too its no wonder she has depression or anxiety or lack of libido. Hello, stress people out all the time, make them worry that their health insurance will be cut off, have the schools constantly cutting education and increasing class size so the kids aren’t really learning anything, that’s the reason there are so many people with these “diseases”.
So what does our society do? Tell them its a “chemical” imbalance and then numb the s–t out of them so they will just accept their lot as serfs.
Look at animal studies. What causes “depression” and “anxiety” is chronic unremitting stress. That is what our country is doing to its people with extravagant spending on “defense” which is really offensive, and no rebuilding our infrastructure, …
OK, I’m probably preaching to the choir, but as a physician I feel like my profession has been bought off and is complicit in this exploitation.
In my opinion low sex drive should be looked at first as a symptom of marriage problems (or relationship problems) or some kind of medical problem. Instead of drugging the woman maybe try and face your real issues or figure out if she is sick. Wait that takes longer and is less profitable. Nevermind.
Oh yes, facing life’s realities! wouldn’t it be great if everyone did instead of looking for pills for answers.
As I wrote on twitter, eat avocados, enjoy the sunshine and find a lover you connect with spiritually, on all levels including humor!
“By Doug Bremner, June 17, 2010 @ 4:23 pm
@Joseph that will be a renaming of an SSRI that is still on patent. Like the renaming of buproprion for smoking cessation”
Against this background I’m really interested in your opinions on d-cycloserine. Which is an antibiotic used against tuberculosis and is getting more and more attention the past years as an enhancer for extinction learning in phobias (and other anxiety disorders). For the latter purpose Micheal Davis and Kerry Ressler from Emory (your colleagues?
) have submitted a patent. I think the use of d-cycloserine in combination with exposure may be promising (at least for the ‘simple’ anxiety disorders) and has a moderate to decent preclinical basis. This in contrast to (‘the magicpills’) b-blockers as monotherapy for PTSD.
What are your opinions on d-cycloserine enhancement of exposure in anxiety disorders (including PTSD)? And do you approve that scientist try to patent their findings and by doing so get rewarded for their creativity and hard work? Or should scientist, whose research is mostly funded by taxpayer’s money, transfer their knowledge freely to the public domain?
GO Dr. Joe! All very good points. Add in the fact that paying for all of the medications for the “illness” that’s been invented puts even more (financial) stress on the family, and you’ve got even more depression and anxiety.