A man can just inseminate and go, while the woman remains with the kids, the job and the household. With so many responsibilities they have to juggle with, many women don't actually have time for romance and even lose their sex drive.

And if you think that only men are unable to function sexually, you'd better find out that 40 - 45% of adult women display at least one symptom of sexual dysfunction, and very few can talk about it. "Women who have sexual dysfunction should realize this may be a treatable condition, not just a personal problem," said Dr. Thuy-Tien L. Dam, clinical director of the UCSD Department of Family and Preventive Medicine. "Many women don't know that other women experience this too, and that it might be a diagnosable disorder called Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder or HSDD."

A team led by Dam is working on a clinical trial for a drug that would be safe and effective for women with low sexual desire. HSDD, the most widespread form of female sexual dysfunction, has as main symptoms low sexual thoughts, feelings and desire to have sex. 17% to 55% of all women display low sex drive, depending on age. "Candidates for the study are women who have desire problems; women who once had a healthy sex-drive who now notice a big difference in desire level, for some unknown reason," said Dam.

"If we can understand the physiologic process of what's happening, we can tailor the treatment specifically for that."

Erectile dysfunction in men is in many cases caused by a physiological problem, like low blood flow; that's why some researchers believe that a similar cause could be responsible for the women's sexual dysfunctions.

But while male erectile dysfunction is widely investigated and treated, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not given its approval for any investigational drugs aimed against similar disorders in women. "This study is an important step in the therapeutic options to help women regain a satisfactory sex life, and to be able to talk about it," said Dam.