Men have Viagra and Cialis but there's no medical treatment for women who suffer with an ailing sex drive. Now local researchers are testing a new way to put the zip back into womens' sex lives.

Clevelander Marge West wants her sex drive back. That's why she enrolled in a clinical trial for a new drug.

Rapid Medical Research in Cleveland is testing something called Libi-Gel. It's a clear gel of testosterone, which patients rub on their arms once a day.

Dr. Wulf Utian is overseeing one of the local test sites.

"This is for women who don't have a feeling of desire, they feel like it isn't like it used to be, they used to have an interest, they just, for some reason. It's gone," said Utian.

That describes West perfectly. When she got married back in 1979, West said sex was great. But as is often the case for women, when West went through menopause, her libido fizzled. That's why she's on board with testing Libi-Gel.

Libi-Gel is very similar to the testosterone patch, which, in its own clinical trial, showed that the hormone can improve a woman's sex drive.

The patch is widely used in Europe. But the Food And Drug Administration put the breaks on it, deciding the patch needed more long-term safety testing before it could get approval.

Utian said he's baffled by how far behind the United States is in taking care of women's needs when it comes to libido.

"It really beats me. Maybe medicine for so long was a male dominated profession," Utian said.

But what Utian does know is that testosterone can work and he is recruiting women like West to give it a try over a 6-month period.

"If they could just bring me up a level I'd be pleased and i'm sure my husband would be thrilled," said West.

Women who are interested in enrolling in this trial locally don't have to be in menopause but they do have to be taking estrogen, either in a birth control pill or as part of hormone replacement therapy or for osteoporosis.

For information, women can call Rapid Medical Research in Cleveland at 888-460-2275. Enrollment is free.

Utian said the risks are what you would expect from testosterone, things like deepening of the voice or facial hair.