Secret ingredient for elderly romance

	Tweet

A mystery chemical isolated from the sweat of young women seems to act as a romance booster for their older counterparts.

When the researchers added the compound, Pheromone 10:13, to a perfume and gave it to older women, it made their partners more affectionate.

"In diaries kept by the women for 6 weeks, 41 percent of pheromone users reported more petting, kissing and affection with partners,” New Scientist magazine said on Wednesday.

Pheromones are airborne chemicals secreted from the body and recognized by their smell. Humans and animals emit pheromones.

Joan Friebely of Harvard University and Susan Rako, a doctor from Newton, Massachusetts, studied the behavior of 44 post-menopausal women. Half were given a perfume with the compound while the remainder used a fragrance with a placebo or dummy chemical.

Only 14 percent of women using the perfume with the placebo reported an increase in affection from their partners.

Biologist Winnifred Cutler, the discoverer of the mystery pheromone, is keeping the identify of the compound a secret until patents have been granted to her organization, the Athena Institute for Women’s Wellness Research in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania, according to the magazine.

RELATED STORIES:
Early parenting plays key role in infants’ physiological response to stress   Researchers find clues to why some continue to eat when full   Stroke survivors have a high risk of dementia   Girls say they stink at math, even when they don’t   Do high-fat diets make us stupid and lazy?   ADHD Researcher Helping Japan Implement Programs   Most school-aged children have imaginary friends   Validating preschool programs for children with autism   China says mental illness becomes major problem   Non-epileptic seizures may be misdiagnosed longer in veterans   Long-term Strattera seen OK for adults with ADHD   Selection on genes underlying schizophrenia during human evolution

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]