Changes in clitoral blood flow in premenopausal women affected by type 1 diabetes after single 100-mg administration of sildenafil.

Objectives: To verify whether sildenafil is effective in modifying clitoral blood flow in premenopausal women affected by type 1 diabetes.

Methods: The setting was a diabetes outpatient clinic in which 30 premenopausal women affected by type 1 diabetes treated with insulin therapy and 39 healthy premenopausal women participated in our prospective open-label clinical study. Each diabetic woman received a single oral dose of 100 mg sildenafil. Translabial color Doppler ultrasonography was used to measure the resistance index, pulsatility index, peak systolic velocity, and end-diastolic velocity of the clitoral arteries 1 and 4 hours after sildenafil intake.

Results: One hour after the administration of sildenafil, the mean resistance index was significantly lower and the mean pulsatility index, mean peak systolic velocity, and mean end-diastolic velocity of the clitoral arteries were significantly greater compared with baseline and 4 hours after sildenafil (P <0.05). The baseline clitoral blood flow of the diabetic women was lower compared with that of the control group (P <0.001).

Conclusions: Sildenafil seems to improve the clitoral blood flow of premenopausal women with type 1 diabetes.