The male birth control pill can be made “on demand” for men. According to researchers at the National Institutes of Health, compounds in the drug block the protein from being produced for 24 hours. Alternatively, men can take the pill before having sex and still be fully protected.

According to the researchers, it is somewhat more effective than the birth control pill women have to take every day. In experiments, the non-hormonal compounds inhibited the activity of sperm cells in mice and prevented their maturation. Normal animal activity. Male laboratory rodents mate with females but do not become pregnant.

“Our inhibitors work for 30 minutes to hours,” said lead author, Dr. Melanie Barbach said in a statement. “It takes several weeks for men to use hormonal contraception or other non-hormonal testing to reduce sperm count or prevent an egg from being fertilized.”

How do birth control pills work?

This drug temporarily disables an enzyme called SAC (soluble adenylyl cyclase) that helps maintain sperm motility. The researchers noted that the sperm from the female mice remained intact, while those taking the drug did not experience any side effects. The link disappeared after three hours and the male mice then became fertile.

One dose immobilizes sperm for two and a half hours, and the effects on the female reproductive system persist after intercourse. 52 swims, all unsuccessful. In contrast, one-third of the placebo-treated mice in the control group became pregnant.

After three hours, some sperm move back in, and almost all of them will return another day. The team at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York hailed the breakthrough as a potential “game changer” in preventing unwanted pregnancies.

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For decades, scientists have struggled to develop oral contraceptives for men. Testosterone-targeted therapies have previously been linked to obesity, depression, and high cholesterol. Options for women range from birth control pills to the IUD. Therefore, they often bear the burden of contraception.

Men have only two options, condoms or a vasectomy. The first is a one-way selection that is prone to failure. The last resort is surgical sterilization, which is expensive and not always reversible. According to Dr. It took Balbach weeks to reverse the effects of other hormonal and non-hormonal birth control pills on growing men.

The new drug wears off within a few hours. Men only take it when necessary. According to the researchers, this allows people to make everyday fertility decisions.

Professor Lonnie Levine, study co-author, said: “The team is working to create a suitable sAC inhibitor for human use.

Developing a pill for humans is a complicated process

The group previously produced Sacyl Pharmaceuticals. The next step is to replicate the studies in different preclinical models, laying the groundwork for human clinical trials. They will examine the effect on sperm motility in healthy men. If successful, Professor Levine added, he hopes to one day walk into a pharmacy and hear people asking for a “baby pill”.

The findings have been published in the journal Nature Communications

Since it was first introduced in 1961, the female contraceptive pill has helped millions of women control their fertility and reproductive health. Convenience and non-invasiveness leave pharmaceutical giants with little incentive to develop comparable products for men.

In a new study, men who received injections of testosterone and progesterone — the same hormones found in female birth control pills — had to stop sooner. Injected male couples had lower pregnancy rates than injected female couples. Side effects include acne, mood swings, and increased sex drive. Despite the reduction in sperm production, the side effects turned out to be very strong.

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