Menopause: desire for sex thanks to testosterone

Larissa Melville completed her traineeship in the editorial team of . After studying biology at Ludwig Maximilians University and the Technical University of Munich, she first got to know digital media online at Focus and then decided to learn medical journalism from scratch.

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MunichMany women no longer feel like having sex after menopause. Testosterone could rekindle your libido. Experts have so far refused such treatment. But their opinion has changed - the reason for this are new study results.

Hot flashes, mood swings, and insomnia are typical of menopause. But sexual desire also decreases in many women. The use of testosterone could help those affected in some cases: "An increasing effect on the libido has been known for a long time," says Professor Thomas Strowitzki from the gynecological clinic at Heidelberg University Hospital.

New meta-analyzes prove this effect and caused experts to rethink: The German Society for Endocrinology (DGE) now considers a treatment attempt to be justified - if the risks and benefits are weighed and regular checks are carried out.

Side effects due to incorrect dosage

The reason for the previous rejection was sometimes the lack of good measuring devices. Today, so-called tandem mass spectrometry enables an exact determination of hormones. This gives the doctor the opportunity to precisely dose the testosterone and to prevent annoying side effects such as acne, male hair or cardiovascular diseases.

In addition, many doctors in the past did not really classify sexual problems as a health problem. That is different today: It is generally recognized that those affected suffer greatly from it. The doctors treating you accordingly take the symptoms seriously.

Treatment concept

In America, treatment with testosterone is already more widespread: The American Endocrine Society has already published a practical guideline on this in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. According to this, women who have less desire for sexual intercourse as a result of menopause and who suffer from it should test treatment with testosterone for three to six months.

"If such a treatment is chosen, close monitoring of the success of the therapy and side effects is necessary, including the control of testosterone levels," advises gynecologist Dr. Anneliese Schwenkhagen from the practice for gynecological endocrinology at the Gynaekologicum in Hamburg.

No hasty therapy

But since sexual problems often have several causes, it must be clarified before a possible testosterone treatment whether other reasons than a hormone deficiency are responsible for the development of the problem, adds the gynecologist.

In Germany there is currently no special testosterone preparation available for women - doctors must therefore design individual therapies. Numerous remedies that are supposed to increase female pleasure are available on the Internet. The DGE media spokesman Professor Helmut Schatz advises against this, however - its effect is uncertain.

Sex hormones

Both the male and female organisms produce testosterone: men mainly in the testes, women in the ovaries and adrenal cortex. In men, testosterone controls the development of the sexual organs, the formation of male sexual characteristics, semen production and also sexual desire. In women, on the other hand, estrogen does most of these tasks. But testosterone also has an impact on sexuality with them: It increases the sex drive. With increasing age, however, the estrogen and progestin levels decrease in women, so do the testosterone levels.

Sources:

Wierman Margaret et al .: Androgen therapy in women: a reappraisal: an Endocrine Society clinical practice guideline. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. doi: 10.1210 / jc.2014-2260.

Press release of the German Society for Endocrinology from 02/02/2015

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