Predictable recovery of fertility after male hormonal contraception
Hormonal male contraception regimens are reversible within four to five months, according to the authors of a paper published in The
Lancet (2006;367:1412).
The researchers analysed 30 studies in which 1,549 men aged 18–51
years were treated with an androgen or androgen-progestogen regimen for
at least three months. The primary endpoint was time to recovery of a
sperm concentration of 20 million per ml, an indicator of fertility.
They found that rates of recovery were lower with longer treatment, non-Asian
ethnic origin or with use of long-acting preparations. Recovery rates
were higher with older age, faster suppression of spermatogenesis, lower
blood concentrations of luteinising hormone at baseline and higher baseline
sperm concentrations. However, the reseachers note that these factors
are quantitatively unimportant.
They calculate that the median time of recovery for a hypothetical 35-year-old
white man given testosterone undecanoate for one year would be 4.6 months.
If the man was Asian it would be 4.1 months. A total of 90 per cent of
individuals can expect to recover fertility within 12 months, and all
individuals can expect to recover within 24 months, they say.
“Our data provide strong assurance that the previously described
efficacy of hormonal male contraceptives is coupled with highly predictable
recovery
to semen characteristics that are compatible with fertility,” they
conclude. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
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