Female Drug Viagra Disappointing!

Article by: Carlo Diokno, Rumer Certeza

Photo: Corbis 

Those were the days when Viagra was only prescribed for us defective males. Ahem! I didn't mean to include myself, at least not yet. Anyway, a female Viagra has been hitting the waves, but does it live up?

Flibanserin, known as the female Viagra that does work, according to manufacturer Boehringer Ingelheim on the FDA website, also recognizes that it's more effective at increasing the "global desire" of a woman than the "the intensity of acute episodes of desire." To rephrase that, the drug's effects lacks clarity.

That is besides the drug outweighing its so-called benefits with certain side effects. Studies show that around 15 percent of flibanserin users in a conducted experiment discontinued taking the drug because of negative reactions such as dizziness, nausea, anxiety and insomia. That's compared to 7 percent of the placebo users.

These side effects worsened for those who used the 'wonder' drug with other medications such as anti-fungal treatments, hormonal contraceptives, and anti-depressants. However, previous exeriments prove that it didn't relieve the subjects from depression.

It's cleary obvious right now that the fate of Flibanserin rests in the hands of the FDA, yet Boehringer Ingelheim has started a widespread education campaign to increase our awareness that having a low sex drive is a real medical condition that affects "approximately 1 in 10 women"-a statistic that has been argued as widely exaggerated by some sexual health experts.

The company has even acquired the services of Lisa Rinna to be the poster girl for low libido and funded the "Sex, Brain, Body" website that has an educational toolkit urging women to consult their doctors if they feel there's a problem.

Boehringer also funded the Discovery Channel's episode which educates viewers about low sexual desire disorder. According to John Whyte, physician who oversees the continuing medical education (CME) and patient education programs, informed U.S. News that Discovery fully controlled the editorial aspect of the film, sharing pieces of info but doesn't mention flibanserin.

If ever the Discovery program had slipped and mentioned the name of the drug, the manufacturer would be in deep trouble with the FDA, which restricts the marketing drugs it has yet to approve.

Warrant Of Arrest Issued For Thomas Mortimer IV!

An arrest warrant has been issued in Massachusetts for Thomas Mortimer IV. Mortimer is being charged with four murders in Winchester, Mass. yesterday. According to earlier reports, investigators were searching for a man for questioning after his wife, two young children and mother-in-law were found dead Wednesday.

Boston Channel reports: "Police have issued an arrest warrant for the father of two young children who were found dead along with their mother and maternal grandmother in an affluent Winchester neighborhood Wednesday afternoon."