Feb 16, 2023 17:00:00

A ``immediately effective male contraceptive'' that temporarily stops sperm movement when drunk is developed

Temporary contraceptive methods for women include oral contraceptives (pills), intrauterine contraceptive devices (IUD), emergency contraceptive pills (after pills), etc., while for men there was practically only a condom option. . However, in recent years,

the development of male contraceptives has been progressing, and in a new paper published in the scientific journal Nature Communications , the effect of ``a male contraceptive that temporarily stops sperm movement when taken'' was demonstrated in a mouse experiment. It has been confirmed.

On-demand male contraception via acute inhibition of soluble adenylyl cyclase |
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-36119-6

'On Demand' Male Contraceptive Pill Could Switch Your Sperm Off For a Day : ScienceAlert
https://www.sciencealert.com/on-demand-male-contraceptive-pill-could-switch-your-sperm-off-for-a-day

As a contraceptive method for men, besides condoms, there is also the option of pipe cutting , which removes the vas deferens, but pipe cutting requires surgery and it is difficult to restore fertility again after a certain period of time. The abundance of temporary contraceptive options only for women is a problem because it places the burden of contraception on women excessively.

Therefore, a research team of Melanie Balbach, a pharmacological researcher at Weil Cornell Medical College in the United States, developed a new male contraceptive. The male contraceptive developed by the research team targets an enzyme called ` ` Soluble adenylyl cyclase '' that plays an important role in mammalian sperm motility. Soluble adenylate cyclase functions as an 'on-switch' for sperm, so when it is inhibited, sperm cannot move.

The research team conducted several experiments on mice and confirmed that when an acute-acting soluble adenylate cyclase inhibitor was administered, mouse sperm stopped moving in about 30 minutes to 1 hour. In addition, the contraceptive effect was 100% for the first 2 hours after administration, the contraceptive effect decreased to 91% after 3 hours, and sperm began to move again after 24 hours.

Many of the male contraceptives in development are hormonally targeted and must be taken continuously until they are effective in blocking sperm production in the testicles, and fertility is lost for some time after stopping the medication. I will not return. However, this approach, which targets sperm motility, is characterized by the fact that it is an acute-acting type that is effective within one hour of administration and disappears after one day.

In addition, infertile men with chronically inhibited soluble adenylyl cyclase have been reported to have a higher incidence of kidney stones, but acute-acting forms are also less likely to develop this side effect. That's what I'm talking about.

However, this study is based on experimental results in mice only, and different results may be obtained in humans with different anatomical characteristics. The research team plans to start clinical trials on humans within three years, and Jochen Buck of Weill Cornell Medical School, co-author of the paper, said that the commercialization of male contraceptives could take up to eight years. Said it would be later.

Susan Walker , who studies contraception at Anglia Ruskin University in England, points out that it is unclear whether the newly developed male contraceptive will actually hit the market. On top of that, he argued that if acute-acting male contraceptives were put into practical use, there would be a great advantage because women would be able to see where their partners are taking contraceptives.