According to the study, before adhering the patch to themselves, the post-menopausal women involved reported 2.5 satisfying sexual episodes a month. After use, women reported an extra 2.1 additional episodes, "a significant increase from the placebo group, which reported, on average, fewer than one extra episodes monthly," Reuters notes. And it's not just sex that improved with the patch: women reported better self-image, desire, orgasm and pleasure. So are there any downsides to this magical patch?

Well it is testosterone, so some of the women reported extra hair growth. However, Melbourne-based Dr. Susan Davis, who led the study, tells Reuters that the extra hair "doesn't seem to be an issue for the women. If it had been, you would have seen much greater withdrawals from the treatment groups." Another potential cause for concern is that breast cancer occurred in four of the 534 women who received the patch, while no women in the 277-person placebo group were diagnosed with the disease. Two of those women had tumors before using the patch, and in any study of that many older women it is likely that breast cancer will develop for some. Nevertheless, doctors are studying a possible link between extra testosterone and cancer.

But overall, both doctors and patients alike are excited about the prospect of a libido patch for ladies. Dr. Davis says she was overwhelmed by volunteers for her "Aphrodite" study, because older women are saying, "I'm too young to start feeling like this. I have a lot of years ahead in my relationship. This is important to me." And guess what? Intrinsa may be even more effective than the little blue pill: "Davis said that with drugs like Pfizer's Viagra, men typically get one extra satisfying episode per month. 'We found women get two. So it at least matches the benefits to men.'" Woohoo!

Testosterone Patches Boost Libido In Older Women [Reuters]

That seems like a lot to ask, especially since some doctors, like NYU School of Medicine's Leonore Tiefer, don't think a testosterone gel will really help the female libido in the first place. Tiefer tells U.S. News: "There was a big study in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2005 that has never been refuted showing that low testosterone may have nothing to do with [low libido]." In 2000, Tiefer formed what she calls a group of "like-minded feminists" under the heading the New View Campaign to educate women about the medicalization of female sexuality.

Earlier this month, Moe tackled the same question Tiefer wrestles with: Is not being horny a disease (Moe: "probably not!")? And Tiefer elaborates on exactly why. She thinks the variety of sexual problems a woman faces — loss of interest in sex, irregular sex, interest in the wrong partner — have been hijacked by the medical community when those issues have nothing to do with medicine. "I would regard fluctuations in sexual interest not just as normal but as a good thing built into one's feelings about pretty much everything; with the seasons, with age, with changes in a relationship, with changes in health, with changes in work responsibilities," she says. "Everything comes and goes." Anita Clayton, co-author of Satisfaction: Women, Sex, and the Quest for Intimacy, adds, "For women, a lot of our sexuality is above the neck, not below the waist,"

Then there are women like "Bette," a 72-year-old breast cancer survivor who says using the testosterone gel, which was prescribed to her "off label," basically saved her life. "I'd rather have something worth living for right now, rather than living in the old folks' home. I'm not going to miss any fun."

Sex Drug Viagra Turns 10; Women Still Waiting [U.S. News & World Report]
Women Lacking Libido Aren't Sick [U.S. News & World Report]
A Woman's Sex Drive Restored By Testosterone [U.S. News & World Report]

Earlier: Five Reasons To Love Viagra
Is Not Being Horny A Diesase? Okay, Probably Not, But Should Big Science Keep Working On Female Viagra Anyhow?