Dr. Jed Kaminetsky, a prominent urologist and clinical assistant professor at New York University Medical Center, turning his attention to women sexual impotency, an understudied and highly neglected condition, began experimenting to find a drug that would heighten their arousal during sex. He started experimenting with topical Viagra in 1998, when he found that some inorgasmic women taking the pills were experiencing side effects. "The goal was to find something that-from a physical rather than psychological stand point - would give nonorgasmic women the ability to climax and generally improve sex for any woman who used it," the developer says. He mixed sildenafil citrate (Viagra's active ingredient) into a cream and prepared another ointment from L-Arginine, an amino acid that stimulates blood flow to the genitals, among other places. Instead of blue vision and bad headaches, the side effect was an occasional mild burning sensation. In time, though, The Doctor discovered that the potions really worked better as enhancers for more easily orgasmic women. "It's more of a special-occasion thing," he says. "They might make orgasm easier to reach or more intense.

The doctor's labor paid off early this year when he got promising results from the tests of two of his creams. One contains sildenafil citrate, the other, which the developer calls Dream Cream, is an off-label combination of two vasodilators, or blood-flow enhancers. One is aminophylline, a drug prescribed primarily to asthmatics because it dilates a patient's airways. The other is L-Arginine, an amino acid available in health-food stores. Though he doesn't completely understand why, "the creams, applied to the clitoris and labia, seem to help just about all women," claims the developer. "They result in better lubrication, and more arousal and pleasure. They facilitate orgasm." The creams are still in experimental stages. Neither has undergone scientific tests on large numbers of women, a necessary step before the FDA would consider granting approval. And for now they are available exclusively from compounding pharmacies. But their potential was so exciting that when the developer's wonder creams came to the attention of Glamour this past spring, the magazine's editors requested an exclusive study. More than 20 women took part in the experiment. The results, ranged from disappointing to excellent. The only remarks or side effect from some of the patients noted was a stinging or slight burning feeling.

Our experience with compounding these products has increased very quickly. The results of this new form of an oral medication look promising. The clients are refilling their prescriptions, even though their health insurance will not pay for this treatment. To get info on how to obtain these creams, e-mail SFERZOLA@hotmail.com or call S&P Prescription Compounding Services, Inc at 516-644-2470.