For all of time, women have been the ones largely responsible for birth control. Sure, there are condoms that fall more on the man to actually use, but when it comes to permanent solutions that come with sometimes (usually) uncomfortable side effects, women have borne the brunt.
For some time, though, scientists have been working on a birth control pill that can be taken by men, instead – and the trials are starting to seem very promising.
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The new drug, which works by immobilizing sperm, was found 100% effective in lab mice.
The study, which was done at the Weill Cornell Medicine Center in New York, is a short-term answer to things like injections or medications that work 24/7 to prevent pregnancy – or permanent options like vasectomies or tubal ligations.
It uses a soluble adenylyl cyclase (sAC) inhibitor, and is thought to be put into an oral medication that would slow sperm for a short amount of time, according to the ensuing paper.
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“We show a single dose of a safe, acutely-acting sAC inhibitor with long residence time renders male mice temporarily infertile. Mice exhibit normal mating behavior, and full fertility returns the next day.”
The dose rendered the mice 100% infertile 2.5 hours after dosing, and remained 91% effective 3.5 hours in.
Until now, male birth control options have been stalling out, mostly because men really can’t be bothered – probably because they are not the ones who carry a pregnancy and birth a child.
“Because men don’t bear the risks associated with carrying a pregnancy, the field assumes men will have a low tolerance for potential contraceptive side effects.”
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We’ll have to wait and see whether or not they tolerate this form of birth control, or more importantly, whether or not their partners trust them to remember exactly how long ago they took it, but it’s interesting nonetheless.
I’m not holding my breath, though.
