A new study From Imperial College London revealed that the a dose of the hormone kisspeptin could help men struggling with the sex lives by bringing back their lost sexual urges.
The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, showed that kisspeptin, or also known as the "brain Viagra" could enhance the activity in the region of the brain associated with romantic love and sexual arousal.
"Our initial findings are novel and exciting as they indicate that kisspeptin plays a role in stimulating some of the emotions and responses that lead to sex and reproduction," said lead author Professor Waljit Dhillo, of the Imperial College London's Department of Medicine, in a press release. "Ultimately, we are keen to look into whether kisspeptin could be an effective treatment for psychosexual disorders, and potentially help countless couples who struggle to conceive."
For the study, the researchers conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 29 healthy heterosexual young men. Each participant was given either an injection of kisspeptin or placebo. The participants then underwent MRI scans while being shown a variety of images, including sexual and non-sexual romantic pictures, negative and neutral-themed images and images of happy, fearful and neutral emotional faces.
The researchers found that the participants injected with the kisspeptin have enhanced activity in the region of the brain that is typically activated by romance or sexual arousal when they were shown sexual romantic images of couples. This suggests that kisspeptin could boost the behavioral circuits associated with sex and love.
Additionally, the researchers discovered that volunteers given with kisspeptin have enhance activity in the region of the brain important in regulating negative moods when they were shown negative images. Aside from the increased activity in the brain, the participants also reported a reduction in negative mood in a post-scan questionnaire. Due to this, the researchers are also looking at the potential of kisspeptin as treatment to depression.