DESIRE

CompletedPhase 2

Effects of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Analogs on Sexuality

Effects of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Analogs on Sexuality - a Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Trial With Crossover Design

Lead sponsor

University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland

Asset

Dulaglutide

Subcutaneous · GLP-1 agonist

Listed sites

Recruiting sites

—

Enrollment

actual

Study population

Healthy volunteers

Key I/E criteria

•BMI 18.5-25•Male•Healthy volunteers

Primary endpoint

•Sexual functioning, assessed with the German version of the Massachusetts

Footprint

Where this trial recruits

Site locations as reported to ClinicalTrials.gov. Site count is not enrollment count; per-site enrollment is not available from source.

Identifiers

Registered as

NCT IDNCT04687514

Org study ID2020-02572; me20ChristCrain3

Timeline

Milestones

Study first posted2020-12-29actual

Study start2021-05-05actual

Primary completion2022-09-05actual

Study completion2022-09-05actual

Last update posted2022-09-07actual

Assets

Investigational agents

Dulaglutide

Study populations

Who this study enrolls

Healthy volunteers

Eligibility

Who can enroll

Minimum age18 Years

Maximum age50 Years

SexMale

Healthy volunteersAccepted

Inclusion criteria

•Healthy men with normal weight (BMI 18.5-25kg/m2 or BMI 25.1-30kg/m2 and waist circumference <102cm)

•Written informed consent

•Active sex life (sex with partner or masturbation ≥2x/week)

•Satisfactory sex life

•No Hypogonadism (morning total testosterone ≥12mmol/l)

Exclusion criteria

•History of pancreatitis

•History of psychiatric disease (by questioning the participant, also regarding current psychiatric treatment)

•Daily nicotine abuse

•Alcohol consumption (>1 glass/day)

•Substance abuse (as eg cannabis, anabolic steroids, benzodiazepines, opiates, psychostimulants)

•Regular intake of medication at any time

Endpoints (10)

What's being measured

Protocol endpoints and posted registry outcome measures, grouped into outcome categories. Composite endpoints show their component event types. Standard codes (LOINC, SNOMED CT) are shown where available.

Coverage by outcome category

Other clinical outcomes

Weight & body composition

Glycemic / diabetes

Patient-reported / QoL

Safety / tolerability / PK

Weight & body composition

2 endpoints

Other/protocol endpoint

Change in weight (kg)

Time frame:at baseline and after end of treatment (V1 and EV1), up to 10 weeks.

Body weight, absolute change (kg)

change from baseline, improvement

Other/protocol endpoint

Change in BMI

Time frame:at baseline and after end of treatment (V1 and EV1), up to 10 weeks.

BMI, change

change from baseline, improvement

Glycemic / diabetes

2 endpoints

Other/protocol endpoint

Change in HbA1c

Time frame:at baseline and after end of treatment (V1 and EV1), up to 10 weeks.

HbA1c, change

change from baseline, improvement

LOINC 4548-4

Other/protocol endpoint

Change in serum glucose

Time frame:at baseline and after end of treatment (V1 and EV1), up to 10 weeks.

change from baseline, improvement

Patient-reported / QoL

2 endpoints

Primary/protocol endpoint

Change in sexual functioning, assessed with the German version of the Massachusetts General Hospital - Sexual Functioning Questionnaire (MGH-SFQ).

Time frame:at baseline (before start of treatment) and after each week of treatment (V1, V2, V3, V4 and EV1), up to 10 weeks.

change from baseline, improvement

Secondary/protocol endpoint

Mood changes, assessed by the German Version of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 for Depression (PHQ-9)

Time frame:at baseline and after end of treatment (V1 and EV1), up to 10 weeks.

change from baseline, improvement

Safety / tolerability / PK

1 endpoint

Other/protocol endpoint

Change in adverse event (AE)-survey

Time frame:at Visit 2, Visit 3, Visit 4 and Evaluation Visit (up to 4 weeks)

change from baseline, event

Other clinical outcomes

3 endpoints

Secondary/protocol endpoint

Change in hormones of the reproductive axis

Time frame:at baseline and after end of treatment (V1 and EV1), up to 10 weeks.

Androgen, change

change from baseline, improvement

Secondary/protocol endpoint

Change in semen concentration

Time frame:at baseline and eight weeks after end of treatment

change from baseline, improvement

Secondary/protocol endpoint

Change in semen motility

Time frame:at baseline and eight weeks after end of treatment

change from baseline, improvement

Publications (3)

Bibliography

Records linked to this trial through ClinicalTrials.gov references, PubMed NCT search, and curated study seeds. 'Canonical' marks design/result papers; others are registry references or candidates.

Registry references + supporting bibliography

GLP-1 receptor agonists and sexual function in women and men: a narrative review of emerging evidence and the need for further research.
Sexual medicine reviews2026 Jan 5PMID41870138doi:10.1093/sxmrev/qeag015via pubmed acronym asset candidate
Appetite, eating attitudes, and eating behaviours during treatment with retatrutide in adults with type 2 diabetes: Results of a phase 2 study.
Diabetes, obesity & metabolism2025 Dec (month)PMID40916752doi:10.1111/dom.70097via pubmed acronym asset candidate
Effects of the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist dulaglutide on sexuality in healthy men: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study.
EBioMedicine2024 Sep (month)PMID39232425doi:10.1016/j.ebiom.2024.105284via pubmed acronym asset candidate

Provenance

Sources

Trial identity, design, statusClinicalTrials.gov API v2

Snapshot dateJuly 1, 2026

Endpoint classificationDelfa endpoint taxonomy v2 (May 13, 2026)

Results tableno registry results posted yet

Trial facts come from public ClinicalTrials.gov records. Endpoint categories are Delfa's classification of those records, not a ClinicalTrials.gov field. All figures reflect the July 1, 2026 snapshot.