Women's ovaries and adrenal glands share the responsibility for testosterone production. Studies show that testosterone helps women maintain muscle and bone strength, and contributes to sex drive or libido.
Women manufacture about one-seventh the amount of testosterone each day that men do.
After menopause or ovary removal, however, their testosterone production drops much further. Oestrogen replacement therapy can also lead to decreased testosterone production, leading some postmenopausal women to go to their doctors with concerns about lack of energy and libido despite already being on hormone replacement therapy. When testosterone levels in the blood increase in testosterone-deficient women, bone density usually improves, and women generally report that they feel better. Until December, testosterone treatments for women had been available in the form of tablets, injections and implants, but a testosterone skin patch may be in the market soon. In December, ABC News reported that researchers had new evidence confirming the theory that testosterone replacement in post-menopausal women can help rejuvenate the libido.