CHICAGO (Reuters) -
Viagra, a popular anti-impotence pill,
may help some women on antidepressants have better sex, U.S.
researchers said on Tuesday.

They found women on antidepressants who took Viagra had
fewer sexual side effects than those who took a placebo. Sexual
dysfunction can prompt many people to stop taking drugs to
treat depression.

While other studies have hinted that Viagra might help
these women, the latest research, published in the Journal of
the American Medical Association, is one of the first
scientifically rigorous studies to show this benefit.

“By treating this bothersome treatment-associated adverse
effect … patients can remain antidepressant-adherent, reduce
the current high rates of premature medication discontinuation,
and improve depression disease management outcomes,” Dr. H.
George Nurnberg of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque
and colleagues wrote.

The research was funded by Pfizer Inc, known generically as
tadalafil, and Levitra or vardenafil, sold by GlaxoSmithKline,
Bayer AG and Schering-Plough, work in a similar way to Viagra.

“These findings are important not only because women
experience major depressive disorder at nearly double the rate
of men and because they experience greater resulting sexual
dysfunction than men, but also because it establishes that
(drugs such as sildenafil) are effective in both sexes for this
purpose,” they wrote.

(Editing by Alan Elsner)