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The little blue pill has long been a friend to men in need of a pick-me-up.
Now, a study has found Viagra may have women singing "Good Morning!" - so long as their sexual woes are the result of antidepressant use.
The research, published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found Viagra helped premenopausal women whose depression is in remission achieve orgasm, but did not extend to other aspects of sex, such as desire.
Because some patients quit taking depression medication out of frustration over their lagging sex drive and performance - a common side effect of antidepressant use - Viagra may help them stay on the mood-altering drugs, said lead author George Nurnberg, a psychiatrist at the University of New Mexico's school of medicine in Albuquerque.
"We're not talking about a lifestyle issue. We're talking about a medical necessity issue," Dr. Nurnberg said.
Viagra, also known by the chemical name sildenafil, has not been approved for use by women in Canada or the United States, and the results of previous studies have been mixed, with some showing the drug had no positive effect and others indicating some improvement, the researchers said. This is the first to look at how Viagra affects women who have sexual dysfunction as the result of antidepressant use, they said.
The new Viagra study involved 98 women whose depression was in remission but who were still experiencing sexual dysfunction. The women, whose average age was 37, were told to take a pill a couple of hours before sex for eight weeks. Half were given Viagra, while the other half took placebo pills. Neither group knew which pill type they had.
While 72 per cent of the women who took Viagra reported an overall improvement in their sex lives, only 27 per cent of the women taking a placebo reported an improvement.
There were also some negative effects, including nausea and flushing. Of the women who took Viagra, 43 per cent experienced headaches, compared with 27 per cent of the women taking the placebo.
If Viagra were to be approved for use among depressed women experiencing sexual dysfunction, the potential windfall could be huge. There were approximately 27 million prescriptions for antidepressants issued by Canadian doctors last year, according to IMS Health Canada, a private firm that tracks prescription drug sales.
So far, the search for a Viagra equivalent for women has been disheartening. While some over-the-counter varieties of sexual stimulants for women - such as creams and pills - are available, none have had the effect that Viagra has for men.
The JAMA study was sponsored by Viagra manufacturer Pfizer Inc. The pharmaceutical giant provided the pills, but "had no other role in the design and conduct of the study," researchers said.
Any industry involvement in medical research should raise a red flag, says Joel Lexchin, a Toronto doctor who teaches health policy at York University.
"When you have a study that is paid for by the companies, I would tend to look at those rather skeptically," he said.
"There are an awful lot of women who are on antidepressants. So if you can target that group of people to get Viagra, then you potentially have got a lot more people you can sell to."
Pfizer spokeswoman Sally Beatty said the company currently has no plans to seek approval for using its drug as a treatment for female sexual dysfunction. The company ended its internal research for Viagra for women in 2004 because results were inconclusive, she said.
With a report from Associated Press
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