The Daily Mail, a British tabloid, is running a story today regarding a 29-year-old woman who had been on a clinical trial taking medication to boost her libido.
The drugs in question, Wellbutrin [GSK] and Trazodone [generic].
Priapism is a condition that usually affects men but in rare cases, can affect women too.
The condition is where a penis or clitoris becomes engorged with blood, causing a painful, long-lasting erection.
'The pain had become debilitating, as she was unable to walk, sit, or stand without significant worsening of the pain,' according to the case report in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, writes the Daily Mail.
When she was examined, doctors discovered her clitoris had become a purple colour and swollen to 2.0 × 0.7 centimeters (0.8 × 0.3 inches).
Wellbutrin is an antidepressant known by its generic name of bupropion, it is also marketed and sold as a smoking cessation drug... given the new brand name of Zyban.
Quite why this was given in combination with Trazodone is unknown.
Worryingly, and something the Daily Mail didn't pick up on, combining these medications may increase the risk of seizures [1]
In 2012 GlaxoSmithKline were found guilty of fraud and fined a record $3 billion. One of the drugs they were fraudulently promoting was Wellbutrin.
Glaxo, with the help of PR firms and the appeal of lavish vacations to convince medical professionals to prescribe the antidepressant Wellbutrin for weight loss, sexual dysfunction, drug addiction and ADHD, even though the drug is FDA approved only to treat depression.
Tavy Deming, an attorney for one of the whistle blowers, told the AP that during a regional meeting of sales representatives in Las Vegas in 2000, the reps were told to promote Wellbutrin as the drug that makes patients “happy, horny and skinny,” as part of a national slogan repeated to doctors. [2]
I think the term 'clinical trial' used by the Daily Mail may be a tad misleading here. It's possible that the 29 year-old's doctor just tried these combination of drugs on her. Nevertheless, who ever prescribed them in combination, or indeed to 'cure' libido', needs their licence revoked.
Bob Fiddaman.
[1] Drug Interaction - bupropion - trazodone
[2] Breaking Down GlaxoSmithKline’s Billion-Dollar Wrongdoing
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