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Clitoral Blood Flow
Study reports that “Hormone replacement therapy
improves blood flow to the
clitoris. A clitoral blood flow evaluation may be proposed as a potential
tool to
assess the impact of hormone replacement therapy on the genital tissues
and to
investigate female sexual response disorders in postmenopausal women.”
Effect of Hormone
Replacement Therapy on Clitoral Artery Blood
Flow in Healthy Postmenopausal Women.
E Alatas, B. Yagci, O. Oztekin, N.
Sabir, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Pamukkale University Medical Faculty, Denizli, Turkey,
J Sex Med. 2008 Jun 10.
Introduction. Aging and the decline of
ovarian hormonal secretion during menopause may
alter libido, and sexual response and functioning. The effects of
hormone replacement
therapy (HRT) on the genital vascular hemodynamics have been
widely studied. However,
there is a lack of knowledge about the effect of HRT on
basal clitoral blood flow. Aim. The
aims of this study were to measure clitoral
artery blood flow and to determine whether HRT
has a significant effect in clitoral
artery blood flow in postmenopausal women. Methods.
Doppler sonography of clitoral arteries
was performed in 25 postmenopausal women aged
51.3 +/- 4.5 years who had been
using a continuous combined HRT (0.625 mg of
conjugated equine estrogens plus
2.5 mg medroxyprogesterone acetate, in 1 tablet daily) for
2.0 +/- 1.1 years, and
the clitoral artery peak systolic velocity, resistance index (RI), and
pulsatility
index (PI) were measured. Thirty-five postmenopausal women aged 50.0 +/- 4.2
years who had
not used HRT served as a control group. Main Outcome Measures.
Assessment of clitoral blood flow with color Doppler ultrasonography by measuring the
peak systolic velocity, RI, and PI. Results. Clitoral artery circulation was easily
detectable
by the color Doppler sonography. The clitoral artery peak systolic velocities
were
significantly higher in postmenopausal women taking HRT compared with the
control group
(11.8 +/-5.2 cm/second vs. 15.0 +/- 5.4 cm/second, P = 0.025).
Conclusion. Hormone replacement therapy improves blood flow to the clitoris. A
clitoral blood flow evaluation may be proposed as a potential
tool to assess the
impact of hormone replacement therapy on the genital tissues
and to investigate
female sexual response disorders in postmenopausal women.
PMID:
18547387 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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