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For many years there have been tales of how a mother’s eating habits could influence the sex of her unborn child. These claims have often been dismissed as old wives tales but now it seems that there could be an element of truth to be had in these stories.

New research claims that a high-calorie diet and regularly eating breakfast in the run up to conception increases the odds of having a boy. It also suggests that a high glucose diet at this time will increase the chance of having a son. It is not exactly clear why this dietary pattern might have an impact but it has been known for some time in IVF research that high glucose levels inhibit the development of a female embryo whist encouraging the development of the male embryo. Although these two observations are separate, there might be some connection in the influence that environmental factors have on the sex of a foetus.

For years we have been hearing from women who claimed that they put on weight following the menopause but there was no scientific explanation why this might be the case.  Following the publication of some interesting research in the US we now might just have the answer. It appears that oestrogen receptors in the hypothalamus of the brain act as master switches which regulate appetite, fat distribution and energy expenditure.  The research was the result of animal experiments where the oestrogen receptors in this region of the brain were switched off and the animals suddenly began to eat more food, expend less energy and add body weight – particularly around the middle region.

An area of the hypothalamus called the ventromedial nucleus has already been explored using gene silencing techniques to examine the effects of deactivating oestrogen receptors in this region.  The result showed that there was a drop in the metabolic rate and energy levels fell.  The animals gained weight without an increase in calorie consumption.

The research team now proposes to explore the arcuate nucleus region and, based on the earlier research where the entire oestrogen receptor population in the hypothalamus was switch off, they expect that when the receptors are switched off in this region, the animals’ appetites will increase.

The findings of a study into the effects of hormone therapies have finally been published in the British Medical Journal, five years after the trial was stopped. The WISDOM study was set up to examine the effects of HRT in post-menopausal women began in 1999 but was abandoned in 2002 after initial findings that HRT could be linked to wider health problems.

The researchers have completed the study in their own time and maintain that, while older women should not commence a course of HRT many years after the menopause, it is perfectly safe for younger women to use oestrogen therapies to relieve symptoms such as hot flushes and vaginal dryness as they go through the menopause.  This study now confirms earlier findings that women in their sixties who take HRT have a higher incidence of cardiovascular problems.

Back in January we brought you news of an exciting new drug in development which can be used to treat erectile dysfunction in men and hypoactive sexual desire disorder in women.  We now have information that the Phase IIb trials for use in men were a success and a meeting has been arranged with the FDA in August to discuss the results and to run through the requirements for the Phase III trials.  Bremelanotide tackles erectile dysfunction in a completely different way from the current generation of drugs such as Viagra.  Bremelanotide targets the central nervous system and is the first medication in a class known as melanocortin agonists.  Because of the way that this new medicine works, it is unlikely to be contraindicated for patients with heart problems or who use nitrates.  Although it will be a while before this medication is available to prescribe, initial findings do appear positive.

The new prescription treatment for Female Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder is now available to prescribe.  The Online Clinic is one of the first websites to offer this treatment.  Please follow this link to read about Intrinsa and register - Buy Intrinsa

Intrinsa is not suitable for everyone so please register so that one of our doctors can assess your suitability.  The registration process only takes around 3 minutes.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact The Online Clinic direct.  A member of staff will be glad to help you.

Intrinsa, the much heralded pharmaceutical patch to help women with a low libido is about to be available to prescribe in the UK.  This is the first of a number of pharmaceutical products currently in development to help women with a low sex drive.  Intrinsa has been launched by Proctor and Gamble which received approval for this product from the European Medicines Agency last July.

The patch works by supplying the body with additional testosterone – a hormone that occurs naturally but is often found to be low in women who complain of having a low sex drive.  The testosterone is delivered via a transdermal patch to reduce the potential side effects.  The patch is placed on the lower abdomen and should be changed every 3 to 4 days.  Trials have shown that women who use the patch are inclined to feel like having sex more frequently.

Intrinsa is a prescription only medication and it will not be appropriate for everyone.  We will provide more information when it becomes available.

If you would like to register your interest in this product, please feel free to send an e-mail to consultations@theonlineclinic.co.uk and we will notify you when we have this product available to prescribe.

Acomplia was a ground-breaking new breed of medication which targeted the body’s little understood endocannabinoid system when it was launched in the UK last June but it could soon have one or more rivals. Both Merck and Pfizer have similar drugs in Phase III clinical trials which are said to be producing very promising results. Merck has already announced that it intends to apply for regulatory approval in 2008 and it is believed that Pfizer will be aiming to seek approval at around the same time. There is another drug which works in a similar way to Acomplia under development by Bristol Myers Squibb but it is believed that the development of this product is significantly behind those of Merck and Pfizer.

The drugs in development are all CB1 receptor antagonists. Results from the trials have not yet been published so it is not possible to gauge whether they will have a better success rate than Acomplia. What is known is that the slimming pill under development by Merck is going to be of a much lower dosage than the 20 mg at which Acomplia is licensed in the UK. The Phase II trial focused on 6mg, 4mg and 2 mg strengths but the Phase III trial will focus on 2mg, 1mg and 0.5mg, suggesting that the company has either concluded that a lower dose is better or the side effects were too severe at the higher dosages.

Although the endocannabinoid system is not fully understood, it is believed to form part of the body’s system of regulating cravings. Samples taken from obese women have been compared with samples taken from lean women and the level of endocannabinoids found to be much higher in the obese women. This discovery has led scientists to conclude that the endocannabinoid system is likely to be overactive in obese people. The introduction of Acomplia, which prevents the CB1 receptor from working, has helped thousands of obese patients in the UK to lose weight.

A scientific study into the controversial Atkins diet suggests that it can be one of the most effective ways for women to lose weight without the aid of slimming pills.  At the end of a 12 month trial, overweight subjects on the Atkins regime had lost twice as much weight on average as women on three competing diets. Atkins minimises carbohydrates, such as bread and sugar, in favour of meat and other proteins.  However, amid increasing concern that its devotees miss out on vital nutrients, it has recently been supplanted by new dietary regimes such as the GI diet, which consists of foods that release glucose slowly and evenly into the bloodstream.

Last week however, the study has revealed that Atkins produced more weight loss with no signs of undesirable side effects – at least in the short term.  In the study, 311 pre-menopausal women, overweight women were asked to follow four regimes: the Atkins; Zone; LEARN or Ornish diet.  Each diet involves a different level of carbohydrate intake.  The Atkins recommends the lowest level of carbohydrate, the Zone diet a little more.  The LEARN (Lifestyle, Exercise, Attitudes, Relationships and Nutrition) diet follows the American government’s recommendations for a diet low in fat and high in carbohydrates.  The Ornish diet is very high in carbohydrates and extremely low in fat.

After one year, the 77 women on the Atkins group lost an average of 10 pounds – about twice as much as those on the LEARN and Ornish diets. Women on the Zone lost an average of 3.5 pounds.

A spokesman for the Medical Research Council said that the reason for the success of Atkins was that people found a diet that allowed high intakes of meat and fat easier to follow than other more Spartan regimes.

In Britain, the Atkins diet reached its peak in 2003 when a survey indicated that 3 million people were on it. The diet was endorsed by celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston.

The Online Clinic does not support the use of the Atkins diet as the long term effects of having a diet high in fats and proteins is not known but we can make a reasonable guess that it is not going to be good for you.  Some people have even suffered ill effects of being on the diet for a short period of time, with one 16 year old American girl actually dying after being on the diet for two weeks as her body was so low on potassium that the normal electrical function of her heart was interrupted.  Other users of the diet have had lucky escapes, including a doctor from Illinois who was a former enthusiast for the diet but ended up having to call the emergency services after suffering from arrhythmia (irregular heart beat.)  Also, don’t forget that even although Dr Atkins died in a tragic accident, he was overweight at the time of his death and he was suffering from cardiovascular problems.

It is possible to have a diet that is low in refined carbohydrates, thereby stopping the insulin spikes which can cause the retention of sugars as fat, without the diet being dominated by fats and proteins.

A revolution in the way that sexual dysfunction is treated could be just around the corner. Bremelanotide (formerly known as PT-141), which forms part of a new class of drugs called melanocortin agonists, is being developed in the United States by Palatin Technolgies. The drug works through a mechanism of actions involving the central nervous system rather than directly on the vascular system like currently available drugs, such as Viagra and Cialis. Given that Bremelanotide works in a completely different way from existing drugs on the market, it is thought that it may be able to be used by patients for whom the current generation of drugs are either contraindicated or are ineffective.

According to market data, around 40% of men who are prescribed the currently available drugs to treat erectile dysfunction do not refill their prescription as a result of a lack of efficacy or intolerable side effects. Palatin therefore believes that there is significant market demand for an alternative form of drug therapy.

Bremelanotide has been shown in four Phase 2 clinical trials to be effective in treating erectile dysfunction and it is currently undergoing Phase 2A clinical trials to treat pre-menopausal women suffering from sexual dysfunction, early results of which are encouraging according to Palatin. The drug is administered by way of a nasal spray and seems to have few side effects which are not dose related.

We will bring you more news on this exciting drug as soon as we have it.

A drug that was undergoing trials as an anti-depressant has been discovered to possess properties which appear to enhance women’s sexual desire. Flibanserin was being tested on a number of women who reported that their depression was no better but they had a much improved sexual appetite.

As many as one in five women suffer low levels of sexual desire and the aim of the drug is to normalise these levels. Flibanserin stimulates part of the brain associated with emotions and pleasure, including a circuit that appears to control desire and sexual arousal. No excessive sexual effects have been reported in the clinical trial.

Unlike Viagra however, Flibanserin cannot be taken as a one off treatment to improve sexual performance; it takes several weeks for the drug to build up sufficient quantities in the brain to have any effect so it would have to be taken as a daily pill.

The drug, which is owned by the German pharmaceutical company, Boehringer Ingelheim, is now being tested on 5,000 women in 220 locations to examine its effects on female sexual dysfunction. The company hopes to achieve approval for Flibanserin by the Food and Drug Agency in the US by 2009.