Androgens and human sexual behaviour

Androgens are generally believed to be necessary for normal sexual responsiveness in the human male and female. The evidence for this is limited and sometimes conflicting. This paper considers evidence from experiments in which exogenous androgens are given to people with impaired sexual response. Results from a study in which testosterone was given to unresponsive women are reported, together with the preliminary results of giving androstenedione to sexually unresponsive women taking oral contraceptives and giving testosterone undecanoate to hypogonadal males. In the first study, when testosterone was combined with counselling, significant effects were produced by the addition of testosterone. In the androstenedione study, where no counselling was given, beneficial effects of the androgen have been unusual. Examples of the evaluation of androgen replacement in hypogonodal males are also presented. Finally, some methodological problems of evaluating the effects of exogenous hormone in human sexual behaviour are briefly discussed.