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Clinical Tests for Aphrodisiac Attract Volunteers
Clinical Tests for Aphrodisiac Attract Volunteers Researchers at Stanford University say that they have been inundated by men volunteering to test a purported aphrodisiac drug found to be highly effective in laboratory rats. Of the 300 men who r~sponded to a want ad in a local paper, 40 were chosen to take part in experiments testing the drug, yohimbine hydroChlU.l:~l.~, which is produced by a tree that grows in Cameroon, West Africa. Laboratory experiments with both male and female rats over four years have found that injections of the drug induced intense sexual arousal and performance in the animals. "The data suggest that yohimbine may be a true aphrodisiac," said Julian M. Davidson, professor of physiology at Stanford's medical school.' "Further research could lead to developments in pharmacologic
treatment of sexual dysfunction." The results with male rats, he said, were important "because rats provide a good model for certain biological aspects of hum,an sexual behavior, including libido, or sex drive." According to Thomas Everett of the New York Botanical Garden, yohimbine, an alkaloid derived from the sap of the evergreen tree Corynanthe yohimbe, has been used for centuries in tropical Africa to bring down very high fevers. Reports of the aphrodisial properties of yohimbine have been heard since the 1920s, noted Davidson, but nobody really took them seriously. Then, in the 1970s, the National Institutes of Health awarded several research grants to scientists to identify drugs with potential for treating sexual dysfunction, and yohimbine was reexamined.
While the precise mechanism of yohimbine is not yet clear, the drug is believed to increase the effect of norepinephrine, which probably serves as the neurotransmitter in the "pleasure center" of the brain. Because of such uncertainties, Davidson cautioned that it was too soon to say that yohimbine would work in humans as it has in rats. "The drug's physiological effects in people may be different from those seen in rats," he said. "In addition, human sexual behavior is complicated by the influence of emotions and other factors." Commenting on the overwhelming response to his call for ,study participants, Davidson sounded a bit weary: "We don't need any more volunteers for this study. Some guys think they can have a lot of fun with this and we have more volunteers than we can handle now."
:~~~m~mmmH~~~~~~~~~HmH~H~~~~HH~HmmH~~~H~Hm!~~HH~~mHHmmHf~H~~~~HH~HH~HmH~~~H~~HH~~~~~~~~~H~mHH~H~~H~~m~~~¥HmI~H~H~HH¥¥~¥~~¥¥HHHHmr From the Centers for Disease Control and the publishers of The New England Journal of Medicine
Name Professional degree(s) Specialty Address
New England Journal of Medicine Reference Number: _ _ _ _ __ (Applies to current NEJM subscribers only, Number is located above name on address label.) If you are not a subscriber but would like information on NEJM please check D. '
ALL ORDERS MUST BE PREPAID. Send your check and this form to: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report MMS Publications, C.S.P.O. Box 9120 Waltham, MA 02254-9120 Please allow 4-6 weeks from the time your order is received until the first mailing.
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treatment of sexual dysfunction." The results with male rats, he said, were important "because rats provide a good model for certain biological aspects of hum,an sexual behavior, including libido, or sex drive." According to Thomas Everett of the New York Botanical Garden, yohimbine, an alkaloid derived from the sap of the evergreen tree Corynanthe yohimbe, has been used for centuries in tropical Africa to bring down very high fevers. Reports of the aphrodisial properties of yohimbine have been heard since the 1920s, noted Davidson, but nobody really took them seriously. Then, in the 1970s, the National Institutes of Health awarded several research grants to scientists to identify drugs with potential for treating sexual dysfunction, and yohimbine was reexamined.
While the precise mechanism of yohimbine is not yet clear, the drug is believed to increase the effect of norepinephrine, which probably serves as the neurotransmitter in the "pleasure center" of the brain. Because of such uncertainties, Davidson cautioned that it was too soon to say that yohimbine would work in humans as it has in rats. "The drug's physiological effects in people may be different from those seen in rats," he said. "In addition, human sexual behavior is complicated by the influence of emotions and other factors." Commenting on the overwhelming response to his call for ,study participants, Davidson sounded a bit weary: "We don't need any more volunteers for this study. Some guys think they can have a lot of fun with this and we have more volunteers than we can handle now."
:~~~m~mmmH~~~~~~~~~HmH~H~~~~HH~HmmH~~~H~Hm!~~HH~~mHHmmHf~H~~~~HH~HH~HmH~~~H~~HH~~~~~~~~~H~mHH~H~~H~~m~~~¥HmI~H~H~HH¥¥~¥~~¥¥HHHHmr From the Centers for Disease Control and the publishers of The New England Journal of Medicine
Name Professional degree(s) Specialty Address
New England Journal of Medicine Reference Number: _ _ _ _ __ (Applies to current NEJM subscribers only, Number is located above name on address label.) If you are not a subscriber but would like information on NEJM please check D. '
ALL ORDERS MUST BE PREPAID. Send your check and this form to: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report MMS Publications, C.S.P.O. Box 9120 Waltham, MA 02254-9120 Please allow 4-6 weeks from the time your order is received until the first mailing.
•..
18
S4D01
American Pharmacy Vol. NS24, No. 11, November 1984/722