October 25, 2005 – A newly published study of couples – including senior citizens and baby boomers – has found that the sexual function and satisfaction of the females significantly improved after the erectile dysfunctional men in their lives were effectively treated for their problem.

In the November issue of The Journal of Sexual Medicine, researchers have published the first-ever prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-institutional treatment study with multi-dimensional psychometrically valid outcomes and concluded that an effective erectile dysfunction treatment in men also significantly improved sexual function and sexual satisfaction in untreated women partners.

The research concluded that women partners' sexual function improvements related significantly and consistently to treatment-related improvements in men's erectile function. Furthermore, erectile dysfunction management should acknowledge that both members of the couple may be affected by erectile dysfunction and its treatment.

The research, in an article entitled: "Women's Sexual Function Improves When Partners Are Administered Vardenafil for Erectile Dysfunction: A Prospective, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial," published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine, involved 229 men with erectile dysfunction for more than 6 months and their women partners.

The women completed baseline sexual function questionnaires including the Female Sexual Function Index, which has 19 questions concerning 6 domains: desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain. Other outcome scales used included the Sexual Life Quality Questionnaire.

The couples were divided into two groups, those couples in which the men with erectile dysfunction received a safe and effective PDE5 inhibitor (vardenafil, Levitra) and those in which the men received placebo.

The mean age for the women coupled with the men given Vardenafil was 54.4 (range 30 to 77). The women with men given the placebo had a mean age of 53.8.

After 12 weeks and approximately 20 intercourse experiences, the untreated women who were with men assigned to placebo were observed to have their sexual function scores fall in all domains.

In this landmark research, the physiological changes in sexual function of one member of the couple (the untreated woman) were found to be significantly linked to the physiological changes in sexual function of the other member of the couple (the treated man with ED). There are limited studies in medical literature where a physiological function of one individual not receiving treatment is improved when another individual receives treatment to improve a physiological function.

Dr. William Fisher, co-author of the study and Professor of Psychology, and Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Western Ontario in London, Canada, noted that "Erectile dysfunction has never been only about a man, a pill, and a penis. It is often the case that a partner's sexual function suffers when a man experiences ED, and this research documents this fact and the welcome improvement of sexual function among women whose partners received effective treatment for their sexual problem."

"The most fascinating aspect of this study," said Dr. Irwin Goldstein, lead author of the research, "is that the women in the study were untreated and we observed that their physiology changed. Think of this for one minute. These are the first ever data that show physiologic changes in lubrication, orgasm and arousal in an individual who was not treated."

The Journal of Sexual Medicine is the official journal of the International Society for Sexual Medicine and its five regional affiliate societies. The aim of the journal is to publish multidisciplinary basic science and clinical research to define and understand the scientific basis of male and female sexual function and dysfunction. For more information on The Journal of Sexual Medicine , please visit http://jsm.issir.org.

The International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM) was founded in 1982 for the purpose of promoting research and exchange of knowledge for the clinical entity "impotence" throughout the international scientific community. The society has over 2000 members worldwide, with five regional societies that are affiliated with ISSM: the Africa Gulf Society for Sexual Medicine, Asia Pacific Society for Sexual Medicine, European Society for Sexual Medicine, Latin American Society for Impotence and Sexuality Research, and Sexual Medicine Society of North America.

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