A new study from Weill Cornell Medical College centers on developing a male contraceptive that was also recently tested among mice and saw promising results. It centers on a non-hormonal and reversible solution that will apply to the male gender and could effectively work should the researchers succeed.
To date, there are only two contraceptive options for men, including using condoms or undergoing invasive surgery, known as vasectomy.
Male Contraceptives: Experiment Shows Good Results on Mice
According to a press release by the WCM via EurekAlert, researchers have identified the compounds that would help unlock the capabilities to bring contraception to males. This study saw promising results among its initial test subjects, mice, centering on a non-hormonal contraceptive that will apply to the male gender.
"Researchers gave male mice a compound that temporarily disables soluble adenylyl cyclase, the enzyme essential for activating a sperm cell's ability to swim and mature so that it can travel through the female reproductive tract and fertilize an egg," says the researchers.
In this study, TDI-11861 is the main compound in question, and the experiment showed significant results in "immobilizing" and preventing the mice's sperm cells from maturing.
Contraceptives Should be for All Gender, Not for Female Only
According to the research (via Interesting Engineering), the mice were injected and given the compound orally, and let the mice fertilized with female companions to test its effectivity.
This progressive research is now putting the responsibility for contraceptives on males after going for a long time with only a few options to prevent any unplanned pregnancy from happening.
It paves the way to give females a breather for once, especially in taking birth control pills and other forms of contraception for their partners.
Family Planning and Contraceptives
The world's contraceptives are mostly focused on women, but many researchers are now looking into applying this drug to men, which would help avoid unplanned pregnancy. There is much research that aims to bring this to men, and one hormonal shot was previously tested for its effect, finding that it is safe to use to reduce their chances of impregnating women.
Previous studies have already looked into this new solution that puts the burden on men to be responsible for their capabilities to cause pregnancy. While there were promising results, there is not much available worldwide.
To date, there is still a massive shortage of male contraceptives to use, which heavily puts the responsibility on women, which is notorious for reducing their quality of life.
Weill Cornell Medical College have made a breakthrough for mice, and it is yet to start its human trials, which would then center on males doing their part in family planning. Contraceptive for males is seeing a significant shortage, and it is time for them to step up on this, with research like this and other options available worldwide.
