A group of healthy men took a new male contraceptive pill daily for a month as an experiment. The results were successful and confirm the possibility of creating a new contraceptive method exclusively for men.
The Endocrine Society of the United States reported today, March 25, that the group of men who tested the pill did not experience serious side effects or decreased sexual activity.
The new contraceptive, called 11-beta-MNTDC, is a modified testosterone that has the combined actions of a male hormone (androgen) and a progesterone, according to Christina Wang, principal investigator and associate director of the Center for Clinical and Translational Science at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed).
“Our results suggest that this pill, which combines two hormonal activities in one, will decrease sperm production while preserving libido,” she said.
What was the study?
The study was conducted on 40 healthy men at LA BioMed and the University of Washington.
As a test, ten of the participants received a placebo capsule daily with food for 28 days and the other thirty took 11-beta-MNTDC in different doses: for 14 of them it was 200 milligrams and for 16 400.
Among men taking the contraceptive, testosterone was reduced to an average level comparable to androgen deficiency, without experiencing any serious side effects.
Side effects
Only a few participants experienced mild side effects such as fatigue, acne or headaches, while five reported a slight decrease in sexual desire and two others described mild erectile dysfunction.
However, sexual activity was not reduced in any case.
Levels of two hormones required for sperm production dropped significantly among those given the pill compared with those taking the placebo, the researchers said.
Furthermore, the effects of the pill were reversible after stopping treatment.
“Safe and reversible hormonal male contraception should be available in about ten years,” Wang predicted.
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