Since contraceptives for women were introduced to the market in the 1950’s, scientists have been working towards creating an equivalent for men and have recently made significant strides in this field.
It was recently reported that male contraceptive pills have been tested and shown to be 99% effective and we are here to clear up all the rumors on this groundbreaking medical advancement and tell you all you need to know.
First, it is imperative to gather that the male contraceptive pills have so far only been tested on mice and have shown to be 99% effective with them. However, tests on human beings are set to be completed before the end of the year, which means that we can predict the oral contraceptives coming into the market within the next two to five years. All round this is brilliant news to some, because it means men can now exercise more responsibility in contraception and women will not be left single-handedly carrying the burden.
The previous approaches to formulating a male contraceptive targeted the male hormone, testosterone. This modelled the approach used for female contraception which target female hormones like estrogen and progesterone. The issue with this approach is that it caused various side effects in males including headache, depression and high cholesterol which can lead to heart disease. One can argue that hormonal female contraceptives also give side effects including nausea, moodiness, headaches and risk of clotting which can lead to tumors and increased risk of cervical cancer. Women have taken on these risks for years on end, with most feeling they outweigh the risk of getting pregnant- making the risk calculation different. However, men’s options for birth control remain few. At the moment the only available options for male contraceptives are condoms (not always reliable), vasectomy (very rarely reversible) and abstinence (not feasible).
In order to entice more men into taking part in contraception, Professor Gunda Georg and her team took a different approach to making oral contraceptives for men that would significantly reduce the side effects. It is important to note that the side effects of this new male contraceptive are not feminizing, meaning the side effects do not cause feminizing effects such as softer skin and slight breast development.
This is because this type of contraceptive does not target male hormones. Instead, it targets a protein called “retinoic acid receptor (RAR) alpha.” How this works is that Vitamin A is converted into Retinoic acid by the body, this acid helps the body perform functions like cell growth, sperm formation, and embryo development. To do this, Retinoic acid has to interact with RAR-alpha. Therefore, the scientists developed a compound known as YCT529 to attack RAR-alpha and therefore make men sterile, as shown in the mice trials. It is designed to interact with that specific protein and not any others and therefore has minimal side effects.
This form of contraceptive, unlike a vasectomy, is completely reversible. The mice that were tested were able to produce up to six pups after being taken off the drug. The scientists are confident that the product will be introduced to the market in the next five years. Professor Georg said “There is no guarantee that it will work…but I would really be surprised if we didn’t see an effect in humans as well.”
If this advances, it would mark a ground-breaking change in the world. Will women ever be able to trust men enough with the responsibility of contraception? Will men be willing to take on this responsibility?
