what the studies found
PT-141 studies measured desire, side effects, and blood pressure
Approval covers only the women studied. Nausea may affect you, blood pressure can rise, and repeated use may darken skin.
What did the main studies find?
In two large studies, women rated their own sexual desire. They also rated how upset they felt about low desire.
PT-141 improved both ratings, but only a little. Many women quit because nausea made them sick.
Their blood pressure climbed for a short time too. The medicine's common name is bremelanotide.
In June 2019, one narrow use won FDA approval. It covers women who still have periods.
Men aren't part of that approval. Erection trouble and performance claims also sit outside it.
For you as a man, the studies offer no approved use. They don't prove that the medicine would help you.
What is PT-141?
Researchers first called the medicine PT-141. Its usual medicine name is bremelanotide.
The drug copies a small natural protein used by brain cells [11]. Seven protein pieces make a closed ring [1].
The FDA approved the medicine on June 21, 2019. That approval covers only the women described below.
The covered women were still having periods [11]. They'd once had usual desire, then lost it and felt upset.
Their low desire happened with any partner and in any setting. The approval doesn't cover you as a man.
Erection trouble isn't an approved use either. Studies in men began in the early 2000s [6][7].
None of those studies led to approval. Early work used a medicine sprayed into the nose.
Researchers later gave shots just beneath the skin [13][15]. Reviews found only a small benefit for women.
When you see type 5 here, it means a common erection pill that improves blood flow. PT-141 begins with brain messages instead.
The medicine doesn't raise testosterone, a hormone tied to sex drive [12]. How PT-141 works in the brain explains that difference.
What is PT-141 made from?
A peptide is a very small protein. PT-141 is a lab-made peptide with seven protein parts [1].
Those parts close into a ring, like beads in a bracelet. The ring holds together better than a loose chain [1].
Scientists changed one part of an older drug. The change favored desire more than skin tanning [1].
Repeated use can still darken your skin [1]. That warning appears under PT-141 side effects.
How does PT-141 send a message through the brain?
PT-141 turns on a brain-cell protein called type 4, a lab label that only tells proteins apart [1][5]. The protein helps carry messages tied to desire.
Most of these proteins sit in brain areas that guide urges. A related protein controls your skin color [11].
That skin protein explains why more frequent use can darken your skin. The brain protein also helps control your hunger.
Early studies found changes in how much people ate. Their body weight changed as well [12].
The medicine can therefore affect your desire, hunger, and skin color. That single protein helps control several body functions [11].
Whose use has the FDA approved?
The FDA label names only one group. All covered women were still having periods [11].
They'd once had usual desire, then lost it and felt upset. The loss appeared with any partner and in any setting.
The label leaves out men and those past menopause [11][12]. Erection trouble and better sexual performance aren't approved either.
Early PT-141 work did include men with erection trouble [6][7]. They received a nose spray or a needle-under-skin shot.
Some men had more erection response as the amount rose. Even so, that work never won approval.
Keep the groups separate as you read. A women's result can't prove that you'd benefit as a man.
How much did women improve, and what went wrong?
Two large final studies, called Phase 3, followed 1267 women. All still had periods and felt upset by low desire.
A shot placed 1.75 mg just under each woman's skin. After 24 weeks, desire had risen only slightly [3].
One survey question, number 13, asked about distress from low desire. Those answers improved only a little.
The study printed below .001 for desire and below .001 for distress, meaning the small changes probably weren't flukes. Those numbers don't show how much women improved.
In a 52-week follow-up, the modest gain remained. The follow-up found no different safety problem [4].
The catch for you is how many women felt sick. Nausea reached 40.4%, and many quit because of it [4].
Flushing reached 20.6%, and headache reached 12.0% [4]. Those numbers show the unwanted effects you may weigh.
Blood pressure may rise briefly while heart rate falls [11][9]. The label rules out use when high pressure stays unchecked.
Known heart disease also rules out use. Frequent use may darken breast tissue, skin, and gums [12].
A later review called the gains small [13]. You can compare them with PT-141 side effects.
The approved PT-141 form uses an under-the-skin shot. Half-life means the blood amount drops by half.
For this medicine, that takes about 2.7 hours [11]. Read how long PT-141 lasts if timing concerns you.
Women gained little and often felt sick. Neither finding promises that the medicine will help you.
How can you check a personal claim?
One person's story can't show what will happen to you. Reported Effects lets you compare personal accounts with measured results.