
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, June 30, 1994                   TAG: 9406300118
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A9   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK                                 LENGTH: Short

ALCOHOL RAISES TESTOSTERONE IN WOMEN

Women get a surge of the male hormone testosterone after they drink alcohol, which may help explain why drinking can arouse them sexually, a study suggests.

Alcohol's effect on testosterone was strongest in women who were taking oral contraceptives, which suppress the body's natural testosterone levels.

In other women, the testosterone boost was strongest around the time of ovulation, when an egg is released from an ovary for possible fertilization. A woman's natural levels of testosterone are highest between ovulation and her menstrual period.

Alcohol did not increase testosterone in men in the study, and the hormone probably does not explain why drinking can make men sexually excited, researchers from Finland and Japan said in today's issue of the journal Nature.

The reason for alcohol's effect on testosterone in women is not known, the researchers said.

by CNB