Reuters Ltd.
Saturday, March 6, 1999; Page A6

Viagra, the blockbuster impotence drug that has transformed the sex lives of millions of men, does not appear to work as well for women, a study published yesterday found.

"We found that there was no significant change either in intercourse satisfaction or in the degree of sexual desire after the patients had taken Viagra for 12 weeks," said Steven Kaplan, a urologist who heads the clinic at Columbia Presbyterian Center in New York where the study was conducted.

"Even though about 25 percent of the patients had some improvement in overall sexual function, that's equal to the placebo response in men receiving Viagra," Kaplan said. "So that response might be a placebo effect rather than a true improvement in sexual function due to the drug."

Kaplan's study, published in the journal Urology, is the first published on the effectiveness of Viagra for women, although several others are being conducted.

Viagra, known generically as sildenafil, works by increasing the effects of nitric oxide, a common body chemical, which in turn gets more blood flowing into the genitals. Doctors have said theoretically it should work the same way for women – helping sexual function once a person is aroused.