title: Testosterone therapy in women with gynecological and sexual disorders: a triumph of clinical endocrinology from 1938 to 2008.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although the term "medicalization" has been used by some to describe contemporary testosterone use in women with sexual disorders and testosterone deficiency syndrome, testosterone therapy for women with various gynecological and sexual disorders has been practiced since the late 1930s.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The study aimed to perform a historical review of testosterone use in women with sexual and gynecological disorders. This review is necessary to bridge important knowledge gaps in the clinical use of testosterone in women with sexual health concerns and to provoke new thoughts and understanding of the multidisciplinary role of testosterone in women's overall health.
  
  
  METHODS
  Review of medical literature on androgen therapy in women was carried out from 1938 through 2008.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Approximately 70 years ago, clinicians from various disciplines relied on personal experience and clinical observations for outcome assessment of testosterone therapy in women. These early reports on testosterone use in women with sexual medical problems served as a foundation for the development of contemporary approaches and subsequent testosterone treatment regimens. Testosterone use was reported for sexual dysfunction, abnormal uterine bleeding, dysmenorrhea, menopausal symptoms, chronic mastitis and lactation, and benign and malignant tumors of the breast, uterus, and ovaries.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Health-care professionals engaged in the management of women's health issues have observed the benefits of androgen therapy throughout much of the 20th century. Despite this clinical use of testosterone in women for more than seven decades, contemporary testosterone therapy in women is hotly debated, misunderstood, and often misrepresented in the medical community.
authors.affiliation: Boston University School of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry, Boston, MA, USA. atraish@bu.edu
authors.forename: Abdulmaged M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Traish
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Feeley
authors.forename: Andre T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Guay
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005831:Genital Diseases, Female / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000266:history*; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D012735:Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000266:history*; D013739:Testosterone / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D013739:Testosterone