Topical sildenafil cream improved outcomes among female patients with sexual arousal disorder: Study

A new study by Isabella Johnson and team showed that women with female sexual arousal problems saw improved results when using topical sildenafil cream, especially in the individuals without concurrent orgasmic dysfunction. The findings of this study were published in the journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Clinically speaking, female sexual arousal disorder and male erectile dysfunction are similar in that both conditions are typified by reduced blood flow to the vaginal tissues. In 1998, the medication sildenafil citrate (Viagra) was authorized orally to treat erectile dysfunction. The effectiveness of oral sildenafil in treating broad-spectrum female sexual dysfunction in premenopausal and postmenopausal women with high rates of severe side effects was shown to be modest in published placebo-controlled studies. Thereby, this study evaluated the effectiveness of topical sildenafil cream in treating female sexual arousal problems in healthy premenopausal women with a 3.6% incidence rate.

A phase 2b exploratory, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was carried out on sildenafil cream. The change in the Arousal Sensation domain of the Sexual Function Questionnaire (SFQ28) from baseline to week 12 and item 14 of the Female Sexual Distress Scale. In this regard, Desire, Arousal, Orgasm (FSDS-DAO) were coprimary efficacy outcomes.

A total of 100 women with female sexual arousal disorder were randomized to receive either placebo cream (n = 99) or sildenafil cream (n = 101). There were no statistically significant variations between placebo and sildenafil cream users in the coprimary and secondary efficacy endpoints among the intention-to-treat (ITT) population. This included women with female sexual arousal disorder alone as well as the individuals with female sexual arousal disorder and concurrent diagnoses of sexual dysfunction or genital pain.

However, the sildenafil cream group showed a greater improvement in the SFQ28 Arousal Sensation domain scores. Significant improvements in the SFQ28 Arousal Sensation domain score were observed in an exploratory post hoc subgroup of the ITT sample randomized to sildenafil cream, with or without concurrent reduced desire and an initial diagnosis of female sexual arousal disorder.

The mean improvement in the SFQ28 Desire and Orgasm domain scores was higher for this sample. According to FSDS-DAO questions 3, 5, and 10, this subgroup population also expressed considerably lower levels of sexual anguish and interpersonal problems with sildenafil cream usage. Overall, topical sildenafil cream produced better outcomes for women having female sexual arousal disorder, particularly the participants who did not have concurrent orgasmic dysfunction.

Source:

Johnson, I., Thurman, A. R., Cornell, K. A., Hatheway, J., Dart, C., Brainard, C. P., Friend, D. R., & Goldstein, A. (2024). Preliminary Efficacy of Topical Sildenafil Cream for the Treatment of Female Sexual Arousal Disorder. In Obstetrics & Gynecology. Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health). https://doi.org/10.1097/aog.0000000000005648