More than 800 women from 65 centers in the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and Sweden participated in the study, the first to show that testosterone administered by a skin patch can boost sex drive in postmenopausal women.

Previous studies have shown testosterone treatment for low libido is beneficial for women undergoing estrogen therapy. However, this study shows testosterone by itself could be a good alternative for women who do not want to take estrogen.

WHO: Glenn Braunstein, M.D., chairman of the Department of Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, is a primary investigator of the study and a co-author of an article in the New England Journal of Medicine. He is an expert in endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism, with a major research focus on androgen physiology in women and androgen treatment of women.

WHEN: The study will be published in the Nov. 6 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine . Dr. Braunstein is available for interviews by appointment.

DISCLOSURE: The study was supported by funding from Proctor & Gamble Pharmaceuticals USA. Dr. Braunstein has previously served as a paid consultant for Proctor & Gamble and he reviewed this study data on behalf of the company.

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Pre-donation pregnancies were associated with an 83.7% likelihood of full-term deliveries compared with 72.3% in post-donation pregnancies. In addition, pre-donation pregnancies had a lower likelihood of miscarriage or fetal loss (11%) than post-donation pregnancies (19.8%). Pre-donation pregnancies vs post-donation pregnancies were also associated with a lower risk of gestational diabetes (0.7% vs 2.4%), gestational hypertension (0.4% vs 4.4%), and preeclampsia or pregnancy-induced high blood pressure (0.7% vs 5.2%). While post-donation pregnancies had a higher incidence of these various health conditions than pre-donation pregnancies, their incidence was comparable to those seen in the general population.

The increased risk in post donation pregnancies compared to pre-donation ones is probably due to the fact that these women were heavily screened for these conditions prior to donation and it is possible that those who had gestational diabetes, hypertension or preeclampsia never came forward to donate. "We believe this research is important so that future kidney donors are aware of the long-term effects [of the procedure]," said Dr. Akkina. "This study provides valuable information to female kidney donors of child-bearing age," he added.

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