Last week, Dr. Bat Sheva Marcus, who has been the clinical director of the Medical Center for Female Sexuality for 10 years, was interviewed by CBS Channel 2 News in New York regarding the expected upcoming approval of a treatment for low sexual desire in women. Flibanserin, manufactured by the pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim, is expected to gain FDA approval in the coming weeks for the treatment of hyposexual sexual desire disorder, or HSDD.
The treatment works by increasing the production of dopamine, a chemical in the brain that contributes to sexual desire.
Experts acknowledge that female sexual desire stems from a combination of hormone levels, chemicals in the brain, blood flow and, of course, the quality of the intimate relationship between two people.
Dr. Marcus applauded the addition of Flibanserin in her “toolbox” of possible treatments for her patients, but cautioned that female sexuality is complex and no one treatment is a panacea for all women with low desire.
MCFS patient Gail Marien was also interviewed on CBS and spoke honestly about her journey from the virtual demise of her libido following a hysterectomy to her satisfying sex life with her husband today.