Male contraceptive pill should not damage male fertility
Men who take a hormone-based contraceptive pill, which is thought to be about three to five years from hitting the market, can regain their full fertility in about four months after halting the treatment, a study has found.
A male hormonal contraceptive pill is in the works since drug companies are looking to give men a greater participation in f amily planning decisions. However, the problem of suppressed sperm production after taking such a male contraceptive pill has made men wary of using these preparations.
Additionally, these seemed to reduce s ex drive, something that no man wants to risk. Hence, the idea of a male Pill has received a lukewarm reception.
But the current study found that sperm production returns to near normal within three to four months after stopping this treatment. The lead author of the current study, Dr. Peter Y. Liu, of the Department of Andrology at Concord Hospital and ANZAC Research Institute of the University of Sydney, in Australia, admitted that an easily reversible method is an important requirement for any contraceptive.
He added that his team's findings, which appear in the April 29 issue of The Lancet, constitute "an important step in the development and widespread adoption of these methods."
According to researchers, androgen or androgen-progestin treatment works by suppressing sperm production. This means that sperm is either not produced at all in the semen or is produced in very low levels that are unlikely to lead to conception.
Sperm production falls to three million sperm per millilitre compared to a fertile level of 20 million that is generally accepted as a benchmark for conception. However, to ensure that this method is reversible, Dr Liu's team analyzed 30 studies on male hormonal contraceptives. The sperm levels were monitored every month in these studies until they reached normal levels.
The researchers reviewed data on 1,549 men and found that the average sperm recovery time was three to four months. Faster recovery rates were observed in older men, a shorter duration of treatment, in men of Asian origin and in men who had higher sperm concentrations before beginning the treatment.
The men were given progesterone, a fema1e hormone, as an injection that was repeated every three months. Progesterone plays an important role in inhibiting sperm production. A single sperm has a life span of 70 days and hence the injections must be taken at least three months before for maximal effectiveness.
In addition to progesterone, the male hormone, testosterone, is given as a sub-cutaneous implant. This implant is renewed every three months. Researchers speculate that the testosterone maintains an intact libido in men. It is reported that volunteers who tried this method out admitted to an increased libido.
"Men who use androgen-progestin male contraceptive methods can all expect that their sperm output will return back to levels consistent with normal fertility," Liu said. "This means that these hormonal methods are reversible."
A male contraceptive pill offered choices to men, said Dr. Christina Wang, co-author of the study, a professor of medicine at the General Clinical Research Center, Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. "It will allow men to participate in family planning decisions and share fami1y planning responsibilities."
"We are developing possibilities for short-acting, medium-acting and long-acting male contraceptives," Wang added. "There will be pills, injections, patches and implants, just like in women. We now have important safety information and a roadmap for future studies of recovery. This is an important step in allowing men to share more fairly the satisfaction and burden of fami1y planning."
Currently, v asectomy and the use of c ondoms are the only contraceptive methods available to man. The withdrawal method or the coitus interruptus is also an effective method, but is rarely successful. Some couples find that con doms are not a good choice, while vasecto my is not reversible. Hence, these methods are not widely employed and contraception has largely remained a fe male domain.
Several large trials are being conducted on the subject of a male contraceptive Pill. A large phase III trial involving androgen treatment and another, which is looking at a combination of androgen-progestin, is currently under way in China and Europe.
The fe male Pill is a combination of progesterone and estrogen and works by suppressing ov ulation. This must be taken almost at the same time everyday. However, there are a lot of side effects like moodiness, weight gain and pigmentation reported with the Pill. Some wo men regain fertility almost immediately on stopping the pill, but generally a period of six to eight weeks is the observed recovery time.
A male hormonal contraceptive pill is in the works since drug companies are looking to give men a greater participation in f amily planning decisions. However, the problem of suppressed sperm production after taking such a male contraceptive pill has made men wary of using these preparations.
Additionally, these seemed to reduce s ex drive, something that no man wants to risk. Hence, the idea of a male Pill has received a lukewarm reception.
But the current study found that sperm production returns to near normal within three to four months after stopping this treatment. The lead author of the current study, Dr. Peter Y. Liu, of the Department of Andrology at Concord Hospital and ANZAC Research Institute of the University of Sydney, in Australia, admitted that an easily reversible method is an important requirement for any contraceptive.
He added that his team's findings, which appear in the April 29 issue of The Lancet, constitute "an important step in the development and widespread adoption of these methods."
According to researchers, androgen or androgen-progestin treatment works by suppressing sperm production. This means that sperm is either not produced at all in the semen or is produced in very low levels that are unlikely to lead to conception.
Sperm production falls to three million sperm per millilitre compared to a fertile level of 20 million that is generally accepted as a benchmark for conception. However, to ensure that this method is reversible, Dr Liu's team analyzed 30 studies on male hormonal contraceptives. The sperm levels were monitored every month in these studies until they reached normal levels.
The researchers reviewed data on 1,549 men and found that the average sperm recovery time was three to four months. Faster recovery rates were observed in older men, a shorter duration of treatment, in men of Asian origin and in men who had higher sperm concentrations before beginning the treatment.
The men were given progesterone, a fema1e hormone, as an injection that was repeated every three months. Progesterone plays an important role in inhibiting sperm production. A single sperm has a life span of 70 days and hence the injections must be taken at least three months before for maximal effectiveness.
In addition to progesterone, the male hormone, testosterone, is given as a sub-cutaneous implant. This implant is renewed every three months. Researchers speculate that the testosterone maintains an intact libido in men. It is reported that volunteers who tried this method out admitted to an increased libido.
"Men who use androgen-progestin male contraceptive methods can all expect that their sperm output will return back to levels consistent with normal fertility," Liu said. "This means that these hormonal methods are reversible."
A male contraceptive pill offered choices to men, said Dr. Christina Wang, co-author of the study, a professor of medicine at the General Clinical Research Center, Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. "It will allow men to participate in family planning decisions and share fami1y planning responsibilities."
"We are developing possibilities for short-acting, medium-acting and long-acting male contraceptives," Wang added. "There will be pills, injections, patches and implants, just like in women. We now have important safety information and a roadmap for future studies of recovery. This is an important step in allowing men to share more fairly the satisfaction and burden of fami1y planning."
Currently, v asectomy and the use of c ondoms are the only contraceptive methods available to man. The withdrawal method or the coitus interruptus is also an effective method, but is rarely successful. Some couples find that con doms are not a good choice, while vasecto my is not reversible. Hence, these methods are not widely employed and contraception has largely remained a fe male domain.
Several large trials are being conducted on the subject of a male contraceptive Pill. A large phase III trial involving androgen treatment and another, which is looking at a combination of androgen-progestin, is currently under way in China and Europe.
The fe male Pill is a combination of progesterone and estrogen and works by suppressing ov ulation. This must be taken almost at the same time everyday. However, there are a lot of side effects like moodiness, weight gain and pigmentation reported with the Pill. Some wo men regain fertility almost immediately on stopping the pill, but generally a period of six to eight weeks is the observed recovery time.
posted by Volatto at 10:40 AM
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