Should women use sildenafil to reduce their risk of Alzheimer’s disease? Elizabeth Tracey reports

Daré Bioscience said the sildenafil cream’s availability will expand to other states throughout December 2025 and early 2026.

How does it work?

If you do plan on taking Viagra, consider the source. Some online sites that claim to sell Viagra are selling counterfeit drugs. These may not work like Viagra and may not be safe. To access the real thing, you’ll need a prescription. A doctor will decide on the dose and provide safety information.

A Note on Gender and Sex Terminology

Viagra is an ED medication that improves blood flow to the penis. Viagra is a brand name, and there’s no “Viagra for women.” There are, however, a few FDA-approved medications to treat low female sexual desire. Because it’s a pink tablet and Viagra is a blue tablet, the nickname “female Viagra” was bound to happen. But these are different drugs with different missions. Addyi is a brand name for a nonhormonal medication called flibanserin.

Competing interests

You inject it under the skin on your abdomen or thigh about 45 minutes before you plan to have sex. Both medications are approved to treat acquired, generalized sexual desire disorder sildenafil oral jelly 100mg lovegra in premenopausal women. Specifically, it’s for low sexual desire that causes distress, but is unrelated to: Addyi and Vyleesi treat sexual desire, though the exact mechanism of action isn’t clear. They seem to affect certain pathways in the brain that influence sexual desire. Side effects of Addyi include low blood pressure, fainting, and nausea. DARE to PLAY, a proprietary topical arousal cream designed to enhance genital blood flow and arousal response in women, can now be prescribed in select states, manufacturer Daré Bioscience, Inc announced in a news release.1 “When Viagra [sildenafil citrate] was approved in 1998, it revolutionized sexual medicine for men.

• Female sexual dysfunction affects millions worldwide, prompting research into treatments.
• Sildenafil is part of a broader conversation about women’s sexual health innovations.
• The role of sildenafil in improving orgasm quality is still being studied.
• It is essential to distinguish between clinical trial results and off-label use.
• Some women experience mood improvement alongside physical effects with sildenafil.
• Education about both benefits and risks is crucial for women considering sildenafil.

But for women, comparable progress on enhancing the natural arousal sensations has stalled for nearly 3 decades,” said Sabrina Martucci Johnson, President and CEO of Daré Bioscience, in the news release.

• Clinical research into sildenafil for women includes various dosage trials.
• Women using sildenafil should monitor blood pressure to avoid adverse effects.
• The safety profile of sildenafil in women is less documented than in men.
• Sildenafil’s impact on female sexual desire is still under scientific investigation.
• Women should avoid sildenafil if pregnant or breastfeeding unless prescribed.
• Alternative therapies for female sexual dysfunction include counseling and hormone therapy.

“We believe DARE to PLAY represents a long overdue correction, giving women an option to reconnect with their own bodies, their pleasure, and their confidence, using science that finally recognizes their needs.”1 As the company continues the process to seek FDA approval of the sildenafil cream formulation, it is making the cream available in the form of a Section 503B compounded product.

Although the sildenafil cream is manufactured “in an outsourcing facility subject to FDA inspection and under current Good Manufacturing Practice regulations,” Daré Bioscience noted that compounded drugs are not FDA approved or

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These effects may be more intense if you take birth control pills or drink alcohol. Side effects of Vyleesi include a temporary increase in blood pressure and a decrease in heart rate. It can also cause nausea and isolated spots of skin lightening (focal hyperpigmentation). Viagra is FDA approved to treat erectile dysfunction. It doesn’t have approval for treating female sexual dysfunction, and studies thus far have had mixed results.

Key takeaways

There’s no “female Viagra,” but there are a couple of drugs with approval to treat sexual dysfunction associated with specific conditions. There are many reasons for low sex drive. Before taking Viagra or any other medication, talk with your doctor about the potential benefits, risks, and side effects of these medications for you. While some side effects such as nausea, dizziness, and headaches associated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants tend to decrease or resolve over time, other side effects such as sexual dysfunction rarely remit spontaneously. Treatment of sexual side effects in women is especially important when about 30-70% of patients taking antidepressants may experience sexual side effects, combined with the fact that women are prescribed antidepressants at rates of 2 to 1 when compared to men.

Sexual Health in the Neurogenic Patient

Sexual side effects in women may entail decreased sexual desire, difficulty with orgasm, genital sensitivity, reduced sexual activity, pain with sexual intercourse, decreased vaginal lubrication, and dissatisfaction or loss of pleasure from sexual activity. Sildenafil, marketed under the name Viagra, is a selective phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor approved for the treatment of erectile dysfunction in men, and has received study for men with depression and erectile dysfunction associated with SSRI treatment. In women, initial trials using selective phosphodiesterase inhibitors looking at both premenopausal and postmenopausal women did not show significant improvements for sexual arousal disorder; however, later randomized controlled trials supported their use for the improved frequency of sexual intercourse, arousal, orgasm, and satisfaction. conducted over 7 outpatient medical centers, 98 premenopausal women with remitted depression on SSRI antidepressants, ages 18-50 years old, were enrolled into an 8 week prospective, parallel- group, randomized, double blind, placebo controlled clinical trial. This study used the Clinical Global Impression sexual function scale as a primary measure, and also utilized the Female Sexual Function Questionnaire, the Arizona Sexual Experience Scale-female version, and the University of New Mexico Sexual Function Inventory- female version, a sexual activity event log, and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. evaluated by the agency for “safety, effectiveness, or quality.”1 DARE to PLAY is currently available for prescription for pre-order in Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Missouri, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Utah.

What are the potential side effects of Viagra for women?

It helps to understand that sexual dysfunction is a complex issue. In a 2024 study, a topical cream with 3.6% sildenafil improved outcomes in people with female sexual arousal disorder (FSAD), particularly people without orgasm dysfunction. Another 2024 study found that age and hormonal contraceptives didn’t affect the effectiveness of topical sildenafil creams on FSAD. However, additional use of psychiatric medication decreased sexual desire in people using the cream and participants who used a placebo. More research is necessary to fully understand any potential benefit from the Viagra form of sildenafil for female sexual dysfunction.

Vyleesi (bremelanotide)

One thing that can suppress libido is the use of certain antidepressants, including: A 2025 review looks at the effects of various medications to treat antidepressant-induced female sexual dysfunction. It suggests that sildenafil may improve orgasm results and most Female Sexual Function Index scores. However, it had limited effects on pain during sexual activity. It was also not the most effective medication included in the review. Viagra may cause blood pressure to drop.

Setting and Sample

That can be a problem if you already have low blood pressure or take medications that lower blood pressure. Most information about Viagra’s safety looks at male use, not female use, particularly in the long term. More research is necessary to see if the same side effects may occur. The product label doesn’t include dosing information for FSAD because it’s not the intended use. In studies, doses for female use may vary significantly. Daré Bioscience said the sildenafil cream’s availability will expand to other states throughout December 2025 and early 2026.1 DARE to PLAY has been evaluated in several studies, including a phase 2b randomized controlled trial (NCT04948151), the results of which were published in Obstetrics & Gynecology. In that study, 200 women with female sexual arousal disorder (FSAD) were randomly assigned to receive the sildenafil cream or placebo cream.

• Doctors may prescribe sildenafil off-label for women based on individual assessment.
• Patient education about realistic expectations is essential when using sildenafil.
• Sildenafil’s mechanism involves enhancing nitric oxide signaling in blood vessels.
• Women with liver or kidney problems need careful evaluation before sildenafil use.
• Viagra was initially tested for women before focusing on men’s erectile issues.
• Alternative options like vaginal lubricants are also common for female sexual problems.

The co-primary efficacy end points included change from baseline to week 12 in the Arousal Sensation domain of the Sexual Function Questionnaire (SFQ28), as well as question 14 of the Female Sexual Distress Scale—Desire, Arousal, Orgasm (FSDS-DAO).2 Greater

improvement in SFQ28 Arousal Sensation domain scores was observed in patients receiving sildenafil cream, although “there were no statistically significant differences between sildenafil and placebo cream users in the coprimary and secondary efficacy end points,” wrote the authors.

About this article

This is the first randomized placebo-controlled study to show a significant decrease in sexual side effects when looking at the use of sildenafil in premenopausal women with SSRI-associated sexual dysfunction, supporting previous case reports and open label studies of this medication in this population. Nurnberg HG, Hensley PL, Heiman JR, Croft HA, Debattista C, Paine S. Sildenafil Treatment of Women with Antidepressant-Associated Sexual Dysfunction. DARE to PLAY is a topical sildenafil cream enhancing female arousal, available in select states as a compounded product while awaiting FDA approval. Clinical trials showed improved arousal sensation scores, though not statistically significant compared to placebo, with significant benefits in a subset of women with FSAD. The investigators also conducted an exploratory post hoc analysis evaluating a subset of the intention-to-treat population who had a diagnosis of FSDD with or without concomitant decreased desire.

Where the Magic Happens

This study showed that doses of sildenafil between 50mg-100mg, with the mean study dose of 91.7 mg, lead to an improvements in sexual side effects in the treatment group compared to the placebo control group. 28% of women taking sildenafil reported no improvement with the treatment, while 73% of women taking placebo reported no improvement. There was no statistical difference in the baseline and end-of-study Hamilton depression scores. While there were no baseline endocrine value differences between the two groups, participants with higher levels of testosterone and thyroxin were more likely to experience improvement in sexual function, regardless of the assigned treatment group. Headache, flushing, dyspepsia, nasal congestion, and transient visual disturbances were the most common adverse events reported with sildenafil use in this study; nausea and increased anxiety were more commonly reported in the placebo group than the study group.