Flip Van Der Made MD

Publications (2)7.1 Total impact

• Article: The Influence of Testosterone Combined with a PDE5‐inhibitor on Cognitive, Affective, and Physiological Sexual Functioning in Women Suffering from Sexual Dysfunction

  Flip Van Der Made MD, Jos Bloemers MSc, Wadi E. Yassem BSc, PhD Gunilla Kleiverda MD, Walter Everaerd PhD, Diana Van Ham MSc, Berend Olivier PhD, PhD Hans Koppeschaar MD, Adriaan Tuiten PhD
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  ABSTRACT: Introduction.  Women with female sexual dysfunction have a reduced sensitivity to sexual stimuli. Activation of central mechanisms may open a window for phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (PDE5) to be effective; as a consequence, the combination of testosterone and a PDE5 inhibitor will restore sexual function.Aim.  To demonstrate that the combination of testosterone and vardenafil will increase the sensitivity for sexual stimuli and will improve the desire and arousal components of the sexual response.Methods.  In a double-blind randomly assigned placebo-controlled crossover design, 28 women with desire and/or arousal disorder underwent four different drug treatments on four separate experimental days. A masked version of the emotional Stroop task with sexual and nonsexual words was used to measure sensitivity for sexual content. Neutral and erotic film fragments were used to determine genital–physiological and subjective reactions.Main Outcome Measures.  A masked version of the emotional Stroop task, vaginal pulse amplitude. For subjective measurement, responses were collected continuously with a lever and two self-report measures were used.Results.  In two subgroups, which were differentiated on the basis of their initial preconscious attentional bias for sexual cues, a different sexual response profile was found. In an initially low-attention group, preconscious attentional bias for sexual cues increased under the testosterone condition. In these women, the combination of testosterone and vardenafil caused an improvement in genital response and subjective indices of sexual functioning. In the group that had initially a high attention for sexual cues, preconscious attentional bias for sexual cues decreased under the condition of testosterone. In these women, the combination of testosterone and vardenafil had no effect on any of the indices of their sexual functioning.Conclusion.  In women suffering from low sexual desire—associated with low attention for sexual cues—the combination of testosterone and vardenafil may be a promising new treatment. van der Made F, Bloemers J, Yassem WE, Kleiverda G, Everaerd W, van Ham D, Olivier B, Koppeschaar H, and Tuiten A. The influence of testosterone combined with a PDE5-inhibitor on cognitive, affective, and physiological sexual functioning in women suffering from sexual dysfunction. J Sex Med 2009;6:777–790.
  Journal of Sexual Medicine 02/2009; 6(3):777 - 790. · 3.55 Impact Factor
• Article: ORIGINAL RESEARCH—ANATOMY/PHYSIOLOGY: Childhood Sexual Abuse, Selective Attention for Sexual Cues and the Effects of Testosterone with or without Vardenafil on Physiological Sexual Arousal in Women with Sexual Dysfunction: A Pilot Study

  Flip Van Der Made MD, Jos Bloemers MSc, Diana Van Ham MSc, Wadi El Yassem BSc, PhD Gunilla Kleiverda MD, Walter Everaerd PhD, Berend Olivier PhD, Adriaan Tuiten PhD, Flip Van Der Made, Jos Bloemers, Diana Van Ham, Wadi El Yassem, Gunilla Kleiverda, Walter Everaerd, Berend Olivier, Adriaan Tuiten
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  ABSTRACT: Introduction.  Female sexual dysfunction (FSD) may be associated with reduced central sensitivity for sexual cues. A single dose of testosterone might induce an increase in sensitivity for sexual stimuli, which in turn allows a PDE5 inhibitor to be effective in boosting the physiological sexual response. Negative sexual experience—like childhood sexual abuse (CSA)—might be an important intervening factor in these drugs-induced alterations.Aim.  To investigate if the combination of testosterone and vardenafil causes an increase in sensitivity for sexual cues and an increase in physiological sexual responding in women suffering from hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD).Methods.  Thirteen women with HSDD underwent four different drug treatments: (i) placebo; (ii) vardenafil; (iii) testosterone; and (iv) combination of testosterone and vardenafil. During each treatment, they performed an emotional Stroop task and watched neutral and erotic film clips.Main Outcome Measures.  A masked version of the emotional Stroop task, and the vaginal pulse amplitude (VPA).Results.  We found different effects in women who had reported CSA (N = 5) compared with those who had not (N = 8). In women without CSA, testosterone induced an increase in their originally low levels of preconscious attention for sexual cues, while women with CSA showed a decrease in their originally high levels of attention. In these groups, we also found different effects of the combination of testosterone and vardenafil on the VPA: women without CSA revealed a statistically significant increase in their VPA during treatment with the combination of testosterone and vardenafil as compared with placebo. Women with CSA, however, showed no alterations in their physiological sexual responding during this combined drug treatment.Conclusion.  In women without CSA, testosterone appears to activate central sexual mechanisms resulting in higher VPA under the combination of testosterone and vardenafil. This effect did not occur in women with CSA. van der Made F, Bloemers J, van Ham D, El Yassem W, Kleiverda G, Everaerd W, Olivier B, and Tuiten A. Childhood sexual abuse, selective attention for sexual cues and the effects of testosterone with or without vardenafil on physiological sexual arousal in women with sexual dysfunction: A pilot study. J Sex Med 2009;6:429–439.
  Journal of Sexual Medicine 01/2009; 6(2):429 - 439. · 3.55 Impact Factor