BOSTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AWARDED FOUR YEAR NIH GRANT
Grant Money to Fund Female Sexual Arousal Dysfunction Research
(Boston, Mass.) — Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) recently received a four year National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant for more than $1 million to investigate
Female Sexual Arousal Dysfunction. This research is funded for the first time by NIH and considered a breakthrough in recognizing female sexual arousal dysfunction as a scientific medical field.
Female Sexual Arousal Dysfunction is a persistent or recurrent inability to attain, or to maintain until completion of the sexual activity, an adequate lubrication-swelling response of sexual excitement. An estimated 9.7 million self-reported complaints suggest that "sexual arousal disorder" is a common and significant women's health concern.
Focusing attention on investigating physiological and biochemical mechanisms, the NIH grant will allow further study of the basic physiologic mechanisms of vaginal and clitoral arousal. The data will provide the conceptual groundwork for potential development of therapeutic agents (vasodilators) for more effective clinical management of "females with sexual arousal disorder."
"Male erectile dysfunction has been studied for the past 20 years; female sexual arousal disorder was never an issue discussed in scientific circles, and almost considered a taboo because no one wanted to talk about it," says Abdulmaged Traish, PhD, professor of Biochemistry, professor of Urology, director of Urology Research at Boston University School of Medicine, and the principle investigator of the
Female Sexual Arousal Dysfunction study. "This is a new and emerging field of female sexual health, and we're fortunate to be one of the first institutions to begin studying this disorder at the basic science level and at the clinical level, as well as the first to be recognized by the NIH."
"We have been researching female sexual dysfunction from a clinical perspective for the last two years, and have evaluated more than 200 women with sexual dysfunction," says Irwin Goldstein, MD, professor of Urology at Boston University School of Medicine, and co-investigator of the
Female Sexual Arousal Dysfunction study. "The support of the NIH will allow for further research and understanding of an important aspect of women's health, the female sexual arousal response."
For the past two years, Goldstein and Boston University School of Medicine have sponsored the largest international, multidisciplinary meeting on female sexual dysfunction, the Female Sexual Function Forum (FSFF). This year's third international forum on female sexual function, "New Perspectives in the Management of Female Sexual Dysfunction", will be October 26-29, and will feature presentations by international experts in the rapidly evolving field of female sexual function. For more information, please contact BUSM's Department of Continuing Education at (617) 638-4605.
Established in 1873, Boston University School of Medicine is a leading academic and research institution, with an enrollment of nearly 630 students and nearly 1,000 full and part-time faculty members. It is known for its programs in arthritis, cardiovascular disease, cancer, human genetics, pulmonary disease and dermatology, among others. The School is affiliated with Boston Medical Center, its principal teaching hospital, and Boston Veterans Administration Medical Center. Along with Boston Medical Center and 14 community health center partners, the School of Medicine is a partner in Boston HealthNet, a consumer-driven urban health network.