Ladies, it’s time to rejoice!
After 59 years of dealing with the side effects of birth control pills, men can now share some of the burden of hormonal contraceptives.
According to the Biomed Research Institute in Los Angeles, their male pill has passed both safety and tolerability tests in healthy men.
But don’t get too excited just yet, as the researchers also said it won’t be able for another ten years.
Dubbed “11-Beta-MNTDC,” the male pill includes an adjusted version of testorone, and essentially acts as a combination of the male hormone and progesterone.
Dr Christina Wang, who co-authored the study, said: “Our results suggest that this pill, which combines two hormonal activities in one, will decrease sperm production while preserving libido.”
For the study, 40 healthy men were given either the male contraceptive pill or a placebo over a 28 day period. Tests showed that the average testorone levels of those taking the pill dropped, but did not cause any serious side effects.
Co-author of the study Dr Stephanie Page explained this is because the pill acts like testorone throughout the rest of the body, while keeping levels in the testes low enough to prevent sperm production. The effect is also reversible.
However, the downside is the pill currently takes 60 to 90 days to effect sperm creation, meaning the 28 day study was not enough to test its true capabilities.
Next, the researchers plan to conduct longer studies, before moving on to testing the drug on sexually active couples.
This is not the first time a from of hormonal male contraceptive has been touted. In 2017, a two-hormone injection similar to this new drug was in development, but was dropped by the World Health Organisation for causing “too many side effects.”
This caused outrage amongst women around the world, as the listed side effects appeared to mimic those that pill-taking women had dealt with for years, such as acne breakouts, mood swings and depression.
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