“It’s a real revolution”
A drug invented to treat eye diseases may be an effective contraceptive for men.
In a new study published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Nature Communications, it was observed that the drug immobilized sperm in experiments on mice.
The drug, which is said to temporarily paralyze sperm, was injected into male mice. The findings revealed that the drug prevented pregnancy by 100 percent for 2 and a half hours and about 91 percent in three and a half hours.
Researchers stated that full fertility was restored 24 hours after the drug was administered.
“This is a real revolution in the field of birth control studies in men,” said Jochen Buck of Cornell University in the US.
There are only two options for birth control in men: Vasectomy and condoms. Women have many more options, but birth control pills, for example, are known to have many side effects. These include bleeding between periods, nausea and decreased sexual desire.
Previous research has shown that sperm need a protein called soluble adenylyl cyclase (sAC) to move.
It is known that men who cannot produce sAC due to rare genetic mutations can be infertile.
Once Buck and his colleagues realized that the drug used in the experiment inhibited sAC, they wanted to see if it could be used as a contraceptive.
It turned out that the sperm were immobilized and could not travel along the vaginal pathway to fertilize the egg.
Scientists believe this new approach could be a major breakthrough in contraception because it works so quickly. It is also planned to be tested on humans in the coming years.
Chris Lindsey, a program officer at the National Institutes of Health’s Birth Control Research Branch, which supported the study, emphasizes that the drug will only need to be taken once before sexual intercourse:
“This is a great thing.
New Scientist, Wall Street Journal
