Getting closer to the contraceptive pill for men thanks to this new study

One of the great objectives of science in this century is based on achieving an effective and non-invasive pill for men that serves as a substitute for the current version that we find for women and that is so harmful for health. health of many of them.

Well, let’s talk about an investigation that has been underway for years and has not been able to find a solution. And it is that, scientists have been trying to develop an effective male oral contraceptive, but it has not turned out as it should and one that seemed to be the solution had to be stopped prematurely since it has led to cases of obesity, depression and high cholesterol .

The side effects turned out to be too severe for his health, despite the desired drop in sperm production, although the same could be said in the case of some women who are forced to stop taking the pill due to its adverse effects.

Women’s options range from pills to patches to intrauterine devices, so they remain more viable as a result. This reality has allowed millions of women to control their fertility and reproductive health since it became available in 1961. The problem is that its convenience has generated little push from pharmaceutical giants to develop a male version.

In the case of menThey only have two options, condoms or a vasectomy. The first is a single-use option that can lead to failures. The last is surgical sterilization, which is expensive to reverse and not always successful. “It takes weeks to reverse the effects of other hormonal and non-hormonal male contraceptives in development”as explained in the study.

However, in a new paper published by Nature Communications, finds a great finding considered among the most promising to date in this regard: a new male contraceptive pill that would act during sexual intercourse and that would later recover your fertility.

“All other experimental hormonal or non-hormonal male contraceptives take weeks to reduce sperm count or render them unable to fertilize eggs”they explain.

How does this new male birth control pill work?

Like penicillin and almost on rebound, this novelty was discovered unintentionally in 2018 when Dr. Melanie Balbach was investigating a protein called soluble adenylyl cyclase, or sAC, for an eye problem.

Well then, this new treatment disappears in a matter of hours. Knowing this, the men would take it only when, and as often, as necessary. It could allow men to make everyday decisions about their fertility, the researchers explain.

Note, before we get our hopes up, that We are talking about a process that has been successfully tested in mice. It should also be mentioned that, as indicated in the study, the spermatozoa of these animals are quite similar to those of humans.

Regarding its operation, the drug temporarily deactivates this aforementioned enzyme called sAC (soluble adenylyl cyclase), what makes sperm swim. However, they corroborate that the compound disappeared three hours later, and the male mice regained their fertility immediately after.

“The team is already working to make sAC inhibitors more suitable for use in humans”says co-author Professor Lonny Levin.

So to speak, this medically or pill immobilizes sperm and with just one dose they were able to disable sperm for a considerable amount of time (the effects persisted in the female reproductive tract after sex).

There were 52 fertilization attempts and all failed. By contrast, one in three mice treated with a placebo control group impregnated their partners.

Of course, as expected, the next step is start testing it in a different animal organism and, after this and with luck, the preliminary tests in humans would begin. It seems that, little by little, we are getting closer to a really effective male pill with minimal negative effects for humans.