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US Government Scientists to Experiment with Experimental Birth Control for Men, a Breakthrough in Contraceptive Use and Greater Equality in Family Planning, Largely Endured by women.
The study is conducted by the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) and will involve 420 couples. The experimental treatment consists of a gel applied on the back and shoulders that combines two types of hormones to interrupt sperm production while maintaining the energy and libido benefits of testosterone.
"This gel would be the first contraceptive method controlled by the user and intended for men since the adoption of the condom," said Diana Blithe, head of the contraceptive development program at the US National Institute for Disease Control. child health and human development. "We hope couples will want to use some form of acceptable contraception."
The gel is a mixture of progestin and testosterone. Researchers will examine its effectiveness in preventing pregnancy. People who use condoms have a failure rate of 12% to 13% and hormonal contraceptive pills fail about 7% of the time.
"Some men may want to control fertility, being not in a monogamous relationship," said Blithe, who is a study investigator in a telephone interview. "It would be an option for them."
A new method?
Millions of women around the world use birth control, a reliable contraceptive method that has been relatively practical for decades. It is likely that many women will prefer to retain control over the contraceptive method used during bad, but some may not take the pill or do not take it.
Blithe said the lack of options for men had caused several couples to enter. in contact before the study by asking to participate. Previous studies involving only men have shown that this approach reduces the production of spermatozoa, which recovers after stopping frost without causing any serious side effects.
NIH researchers created the freeze with the Population Council, a nonprofit group that works with reproductive health issues. The group helped develop RU486, or mifepristone, a tablet that can be used to terminate an early pregnancy. Blithe explained that if the gel for man was effective, he would be wanted by a trading partner to help sell it.
Levels of Testosterone
The drug comes in gel form because testosterone is eliminated very quickly from the body. when it is ingested in pill form. The progestin in the gel, called Nestorone, blocks the natural production of testosterone in the testes, where sperm are produced. Testosterone replaces the hormone in the blood.
"We cut the source, but we are replacing it everywhere else to levels that keep the whole process normal," said Blithe, noting that testosterone levels in the testes were 50 times greater than the amount typically found in the blood.
Researchers will follow men for four to twelve weeks to make sure sperm production has dropped enough to prevent conception, and women will use other methods of birth control as a precaution. After that, couples will only use the gel. If the results are positive, another more important test is needed before the product is approved.
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