Abstract
In August 2015, flibanserin (brand name Addyi) was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of acquired, generalized hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) in premenopausal women. This article summarizes and promotes discussion regarding the numerous controversies that have enclosed flibanserin since the very beginning. This includes questions related to flibanserin’s safety and efficacy and the validity of the clinical trials. Also included are philosophical considerations surrounding the diagnosis of hypoactive sexual desire disorder and pharmacological treatment of low libido. Based on the review of literature, authors judge flibanserin to be modestly effective and reasonably safe, and discuss the differences in philosophical perspectives with less definitive answers.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Erum Ahmad and John DeMott for their helpful thoughts and suggestions.
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AA conceived of the subject and conceptualized the outline of the paper. The literature search, writing, and editing were done by all three authors collaboratively.
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Aftab, A., Chen, C. & McBride, J. Flibanserin and its discontents. Arch Womens Ment Health 20, 243–247 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-016-0693-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-016-0693-6