I recently read about a study done that suggests that the antidepressant Wellbutrin can help increase sex drive in women. I thought antidepressants decreased sex drive. How can this be?

--Terri

It is true that Wellbutrin (buproprion) does not have the detrimental impact on sex drive seen with many other antidepressants -- most notably the SSRI class, which includes Prozac and Zoloft. There are several different classes of antidepressants, and each acts on the brain and body in a different way to accomplish the same goal of treating depression -- there's more than one way to skin a cat. In one study, 86 percent of people taking Wellbutrin had no sexual problems as a consequence, and 77 percent actually reported an increase in libido, arousal or orgasm. In contrast, only 30 percent of people using an SSRI report no sexual problems as a result; in other words, 70 percent of people on an SSRI have decreased sex drive, arousal or ability to achieve orgasm!

One thing to keep in mind is that depression in and of itself usually causes a decrease in sexual interest. Treatment of depression is expected to improve interest in everything, including sex. That makes it difficult to separate out the effect of treating the underlying depression with the effect of Wellbutrin itself.