It is something that women don't often talk about it.
But many women, who take certain kinds of antidepressants called SRI's , experience sexual side effects that they didn't have before taking the medication .
"The newer forms of antidepressants have had a problem with reaching orgasm. There's a delay in reaching orgasm," said Dr. Samuel Keith, a psychiatrist, who treats women who suffer from depression.
Some examples of SRI antidepressants include those sold under the trade names of Prozac, Paxil, Celexa, and Zoloft.
Now researchers have found that sildenafil, better known by its brand name Viagra, may help alleviate the medication-related sexual side effects in women.
"We were assessing specifically whether there was an improvement in libido, the arousal phase of sexual function, orgasm and overall satisfaction," said Dr. George Nurnberg of the New Mexico School of Medicine.
Dr. Nurnberg, led a team of researchers who followed about one hundred women over an eight week period.
Women, who participated in the study, were required to be between 18 and 50 years old, have their depression in remission and continue taking a serotonin reuptake inhibitor or SRI antidepressant .
Half of the women were given sildenafil to treat sexual side effects, the other half, a placebo.
The study found that while 73% of the women on placebo had no improvement in sexual functioning -- only 28% of the women taking Viagra said they had no improvement. The drug did not help with libido problems.
"There was an overall improvement in sexual function on a global measurement. But the more specific finding was that orgasm delay, which was a symptom of SRI sexual dysfunction, improved significantly," said Dr. Nurnberg
The most common side effect reported by the women included headaches, transient vision disturbances, indigestion and flushing. None of the side effects were severe enough to cause women to drop out of the study. Viagra did not help women with libido problems.
Results of the study appear in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association.
Psychiatrist Dr. Samuel Keith thinks the results of the study will help some women stay on needed antidepressant medication.
"We don't need to change medications because they're all basically similar and you can stay with the medication that worked but now you have a treatment for the side effect," said Dr. Keith.
Antidepressant- related sexual side effects are to occur is 30% to 70% of men and women treated with these medications. Previous research has shown that Viagra may help alleviate these sexual side effects in men.
While this study involved only a small number of women, it is the first to suggest it may also benefit women with antidepressant related sexual side effects.
Viagra is approved by Health Canada and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treating erectile dysfunction in men.
It is not approved for use in women. This new research was funded by Pfizer, the maker of Vaigra, but the researchers says the pharmaceutical company had no other role in the study.
With a report by CTV British Columbia's Dr. Rhonda Low.
