Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
New Drug Being Tested That Could Help Sex Lives of Both Men and Women
Aired August 06, 2002 - 08:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: When it hit the market four years ago, Viagra was a breakthrough drug for male sexual dysfunction, but now some are saying, move over, Viagra. There is a new drug being tested right now that could help the sex lives of both men and women, and it goes much more beyond that.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta with us again to talk about it.
Sanjay, good morning, again.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
HEMMER: Before we get to this, though, I want to go back quickly to California, the conjoined twins. What are you hearing right now about the operation now concluded?
GUPTA: Yes, well, what we heard before, and probably both were actually correct. One is that the operation, the actual separation part of the procedure, probably over. Now, all those hard things we were talking about, Bill, separating the veins, all that sort of stuff done, but there's still quite a bit to the operation itself. They still have to cover up those defects now in the back of the head, with bone first, and then skin. That takes some time as well.
And then certainly it will be quite some time before the babies wake up and are able to be assessed and see how they did from all this. So still some time before we know how successful things are. But from everything we're hearing, it sounds like things are looking very favorable.
HEMMER: Listen, Sanjay, I mentioned it last hour. I think we have it to show our viewers on our Web site. There is a fascinating picture right here. I'm sure you can see it as well, an X-ray of the two brains. What are we looking at here? It's very distinct in how you can tell there are indeed two heads that have come together.
GUPTA: Really remarkable picture her. And certainly the bottom part of the picture, you get a sense you're actually looking at a head from a side profile. The very front is where the eyes would be and then the back of the head. And then the one on top, and you can tell there is a black line almost between the two brains, Bill. That is a membrane that actually separates those two brains. The head on top, you're actually looking at it more from a front profile, so you can get a sense that these two are connected sort of about 90 to 100 degrees off kilter.
There is a thin membrane separating the two brains there. But right where that black line is, Bill, between the two brains, that is where one of the major veins that we've been talking so much about. That's exactly where that runs, and from one baby it drains to the opposite head and from the second it drains to the first baby's head. That has been the critical part, and certainly now as you can tell, a large hole is literally in the skull and skin that are probably being covered up right now as we speak.
HEMMER: Hey, listen. We'll keep a close eye on that throughout the morning. Let's talk about the other thing, Viagra and steroids apparently. What is it? How does it work? And is this all bunk or not?
GUPTA: We don't know for sure because it's still early. But let me tell you about it. It is called Melanotan, and Melanotan kind of rolls off the tan. But remember, Bill, when Viagra first came out, it wasn't designed to treat impotence, but it was designed to treat chest pain, and That's how it was originally touted, sort of almost an incidental affect and people said, wow, look, this other affect as well.
Same thing happened with Melanotan, this medication that the University of Arizona originally designed to treat -- to prevent against skin cancer, actually giving you a tan and warding off some of the harmful rays of the skin. Again, patients came in and said, look at these secondary effects that we're seeing, and a lot of patients were having those. Certainly they decided to test it, and a big deal it is.
It's now being called the "Barbie drug," and let's hear why. The Barbie drug certainly gives the a tan, Bill. You also mentioned that it also curbs your appetite, you know, you get slim in addition to looking tan, and triggers the sexual process. And we say it that way to distinguish it from Viagra. This triggers something in the brain. So it actually increases libido, which is very different than the way Viagra works which just relaxes blood vessels and getting its effects that way. So almost a different sort of effect, and a big deal. Forty-three percent of men in this country have problems with sexual impotence, 31 percent of women. This is a drug that's being marketed at both.
HEMMER: Couple more things I want to get to quickly. I'm running out of time here. Side effects are what?
GUPTA: Well, initially in the injection forms they were nausea and vomiting primarily. The company that's been working on this has actually developed a nasal form. A couple of reasons. One, is it decreases side effects. Number two, it actually works a lot quicker. One of the downsides of Viagra, it took an hour and a half to actually work. With this medication, it's supposed to work much more quickly. But we're not hearing much more about side effects at this point. It's already been through a couple of trials to show that it's pretty safe.
HEMMER: Still in trial. I know you mentioned that earlier. Available at what point?
GUPTA: Hard to say. Phase two trials for men, that's still means probably five to 10 years away. Phase one trials for women, probably about five to 10 years away as well. It's going to be some time, but we're going to keep a close eye on this one. This no doubt would be a very popular drug, if it is everything it is pitched to be.
HEMMER: And Sanjay here, the thing that really surprises me, good for men and women. Do we know why?
GUPTA: Well, you know, with the Viagra, it actually worked on the blood vessels only and this particular medication works on the brain, so it affects your libido for both men and women. So that's why it's being marketed to both.
HEMMER: We were rolling our eyes for the past hour. But you have answered a lot of our inquiries. Thank you, pal.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta in Atlanta.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
