Promising male hormone contraceptive
Results of an Australian study of a male hormonal contraceptive tested in 55 couples report no pregnancies over 12 months.
“This is the first time a reversible male contraceptive, that will
suppress sperm
production reliably and reversibly, has been fully tested by couples,” said
principal
investigator, Professor David Handelsman of the ANZAC Research Institute,
Australia.
Male partners received the progestin DMPA by injection every three months.
This turns off the brain signals that stimulate sperm production. As
this also turns off testosterone production temporarily, the men were
given a hormonal implant to replace testosterone every four months.
At the beginning of the study, hormone doses were adjusted to ensure
that testosterone levels stayed normal.
The researchers saw no serious side effects over the 12-month period,
allowing larger trials to proceed.
“This shows the way for a final product to be a single injection
containing testosterone and a progestin which will easily be given by
doctors on
a three to four monthly basis and still maintain male sexual health,” Professor
Handelsman said. The researchers say that collaboration between two large
international companies is now under way to develop such a product.
The study was funded by an American family planning agency and carried
out at the ANZAC Research Institute in New South Wales and Prince Henry’s
Institute in Victoria. There were two phases of the trial. In the first
phase 95 per cent of men showed enough sperm suppression to enter the
second phase — the 12-month effectiveness period.
The researchers add that studies from both developing and developed countries
show that women who are in stable relationships are happy to trust men
to use a
contraceptive. |
