Off-label
A few studies suggest that the antidepressant, bupropion, can improve sexual function in women who are not depressed, if they have HSDD. The same is true for the anxiolytic, buspirone, which is a 5-HT1A receptor agonist similarly to flibanserin.Testosterone supplementation is effective in the short term. However, its long-term safety is unclear. History
The term "frigid" to describe sexual dysfunction derives from medieval and early modern canonical texts about witchcraft. It was thought that witches could put spells on men to make them incapable of erections. Only in the early nineteenth century were women first described as "frigid", and a vast literature exists on what was considered a serious problem if a woman did not desire sex with her husband. Many medical texts between 1800 and 1930 focused on womens frigidity, considering it a sexual pathology.The French psychoanalyst Princess Marie Bonaparte theorized about frigidity and considered herself to have it. In the early versions of the DSM, there were only two sexual dysfunctions listed: frigidity (for women) and impotence (for men). In 1970, Masters and Johnson published their book Human Sexual Inadequacy describing sexual dysfunctions, though these included only dysfunctions dealing with the function of genitals such as premature ejaculation and impotence for men, and anorgasmia and vaginismus for women. Prior to Masters and Johnsons research, female orgasm was assumed by some to originate primarily from vaginal, rather than clitoral, stimulation.
Causes
Low sexual desire alone is not equivalent to HSDD because of the requirement in HSDD that the low sexual desire causes marked distress and interpersonal difficulty and because of the requirement that the low desire is not better accounted for by another disorder in the DSM or by a general medical problem. It is therefore difficult to say exactly what causes HSDD. It is easier to describe, instead, some of the causes of low sexual desire.In men, though there are theoretically more types of HSDD/low sexual desire, typically men are only diagnosed with one of three subtypes. Lifelong/generalised: The man has little or no desire for sexual stimulation (with a partner or alone) and never had. Acquired/generalised: The man previously had sexual interest in his present partner, but lacks interest in sexual activity, partnered or solitary. Acquired/situational: The man was previously sexually interested in his present partner but now lacks sexual interest in this partner but has desire for sexual stimulation (i.e. alone or with someone other than his present partner. )Though it can sometimes be difficult to distinguish between these types, they do not necessarily have the same cause. The cause of lifelong/generalized HSDD is unknown. In the case of acquired/generalized low sexual desire, possible causes include various medical/health problems, psychiatric problems, low levels of testosterone or high levels of prolactin. One theory suggests that sexual desire is controlled by a balance between inhibitory and excitatory factors. This is thought to be expressed via neurotransmitters in selective brain areas.