Take Two Aspirin and Feel Better in the Morning?

Although the adverse sexual effects of antidepressants are well recognized, other medications, such as lithium, also may be associated with sexual dysfunction. It has been hypothesized that lithium may interfere with the nitric oxide pathway, and investigators have observed that indomethacin, a cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitor, may reverse this effect of lithium. The current research group studied whether aspirin, which does not alter lithium levels, could have a beneficial effect on lithium-related sexual dysfunction.

This 6-week, randomized, Irani study involved 30 men with stable bipolar disorder, who expressed the subjective experience of sexual problems after the initiation of lithium. The patients, who were not taking antidepressants, ot…