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Gene in the brain of men controls sex drive, study finds - Daily Mail
Sep 15, 2020 1 min, 20 secs

A gene has been discovered in the brain that regulates male sexual desire, paving the way for new treatments for sex addiction and dysfunction.

The gene controls an enzyme, called aromatase, which is responsible for converting testosterone into oestrogen in the brain, which drives male sexual activity.

Without oestrogen being made from testosterone, a man's sex drive plummets.

A study from Northwestern University investigated the role of aromatase in the brain and found the enzyme converts testosterone into oestrogen.  This process is key to mal esex drive (stock).

Discovering the gene responsible for producing the enzyme that converts testosterone into oestrogen is a major breakthrough.  .

'This is the first key finding to explain how testosterone stimulates sexual desire,' said senior author Dr Serdar Bulun at Northwestern University.

'For the first time, we demonstrated conclusively that the conversion of testosterone to oestrogen in the brain is critical to maintain full sexual activity or desire in males.

The inability to convert the hormone from testosterone to oestrogen had a clear impact on sexual desire.

Converting testosterone into oestrogen is needed in high levels to drive libido and is essential for erectile function.

'Testosterone has to be converted to oestrogen to drive sexual desire in males.' 

When undergoing oestrogen therapy, the aromatase-deficient men reported significant improvements in the frequency of sexual activity

However, the knock-on implications of this latest study reach far beyond aromatase-deficient men and could help modulate sexual desire in large groups of men. 

If drugs can be created which target the aromatase enzyme in the brain then it could lead to heightened sexual desire, the researchers say. 

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