Why male contraception is still inaccessible

At the moment, men have several options to control their fertility, they can do a vasectomy, condom use or to try dubious methods Withdrawal. All of these options are far from ideal, someone is allergic to latex, a vasectomy in Russia made only if you have two children, and the PAP really does not apply to the real contraception.

From time to time in the media appear headlines that are about to be released male contraceptives. At the same time, we are still not able to rely on breakthroughs in the pharmaceutical market, and women still have to decide on their own contraception on their own.

So why create one effective means for men so complicated? We need to start with the fact that in the male body can produce 250 million sperm. Kill ten and still will be able to conceive. Women have also made one to two eggs a month, so to cope with them much easier.

Researchers are now looking for innovative ways to circumvent this situation and use the hormones are not even to suppress fertility, and to disable these functions in the body. Moreover, there are several promising developments: a gel that blocks the production of sperm, hormonal birth control pills and non-surgical vasectomy.

Gel

The gel contains testosterone and progestin - a synthetic form of the female sex hormone. This tool should be applied to the hands and forearms every day, to turn off the gonadotropin hormones are responsible for stimulating the production of testosterone in the testicles. And because sperm production is dependent on the level of testosterone in the testicles, the gonadotropins Lock considerably reduces sperm production. Alas, it is still associated with testosterone levels in the blood and, therefore, can lead to unpleasant side effects, such as low libido or problems with ejaculation. Now scientists are working on a "testosterone replacement," that the whole system to function as before, but do not start the production of sperm.

In the 24-week study, published in 2012 and funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the gel suppressed sperm level in almost 90% of men and 1 million per milliliter or less. It is permissible amount, which is enough to prevent conception.

Use the gel can be used only for a year, and now there are 420 pairs of study in countries around the world - from the US to Kenya. If gel will continue to demonstrate its safety and efficacy, the researchers will be able to include in the draft an even greater number of pairs. This means that the product will take time to hit the market - according to some estimates 10 years.

Tablets

The same sensational hormone pills in reality there are still only in the second phase of clinical trials. A hormone that suppresses sperm so quickly refreshes the body that require more than one dose. At the moment, scientists have made to the effect lasted for 18 hours, but that is not enough: most people do not remember that they need to drink one tablet per day, not to mention two.

The drug works in a similar manner with the gel: it uses the steroid molecule with the properties of testosterone and progestin. There is a theory that its use suppresses sperm production, but precise confirmation is still there. Scientists from the University of Washington recognized that the study was too small, so that they did not measure the level of sperm suppression. However, they noted that the drug is well tolerated and shows no serious side effects. The new three-month study will begin in May, and the results can be judged only by the autumn.

Even if we imagine that the studies are correct, we can not wait for the appearance of such pills on the market in the near future. When there were female contraceptives, hormone dose were much higher, and it causes a lot of side effects. Now, new drugs are much softer and have not many contraindications. We can say that the bar is set too high, and no longer will release the product, from which more harm than good.

Researchers from the Biomedical Research Institute of Los Angeles and the University of Washington and is currently recruiting volunteers to test the injectable form DMAU. Animal testing has shown that injections work better, and that after the cessation of the use, production of sperm levels return to baseline within a few months.

Non-surgical vasectomy

Conventional vasectomy involves tying the vas flows, which stops sperm from entering the urethra and entering the woman's body. Researchers in India have gone further and developed RISUG method that can be deciphered as "reversible inhibition of sperm." The idea involves the injection of a polymer gel into the vas bubble, which will block sperm. Cancel action will be using the antidote which destroys the gel. In India, the certification means it can take over two years, but given the limitations of the world beyond the means of the country will not be soon. According to project leaders, the procedure is effective at 98% - the same rate are regular condoms, and side effects were observed. However, it should be remembered that the product has been tested only on 540 men in India, even though for decades.

What is important is that the expansion of contraceptive methods will enable women and men to choose what they really fit, and the level of unwanted pregnancies in the world will start to decline gradually.