Opposition to the “Pink Pill” – New View Campaign Has an Old View (Part 1 of a 4-Part Series)
During the public hearing portion of the advisory committee meeting, most of the testimony came from women seeking approval of the drug. However, there were some naysayers. Their arguments against approval boiled down to 4 perspectives. In my opinion, the arguments against the drug miss the mark.
The view is presented that development of flibanserin represents “medicalization” of a disorder that can be treated effectively with psychotherapy and education. This perspective is best embodied by an organization called the New View Campaign.
Refuting this perspective, however, is research in animal models that clearly demonstrates that HSDD (or its equivalent in animals) is the result of an imbalance between dopamine and norepinephrine on the positive end and serotonin on the negative end. These findings are supported by functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) scans of the brains of women with HSDD who are shown erotic stimuli. The scans demonstrate that their brains respond differently from those of normal women. So if it’s all about education and counseling, why are the brains of women with HSDD functioning differently?
I would argue that, if depression and HSDD are both abnormalities of the serotonergic system (flibanserin is essentially an SSRI), then how can depression be a biologically based disorder but HSDD can’t? In my opinion, the New View Campaign isn’t new at all.
Opposition to the “Pink Pill””