Scientists have announced a major breakthrough in creating a “safe, reversible, long-acting and 100 percent effective non-hormonal” male contraceptive.
Cornell University says a six-year research project, using mice, showed that targeting a natural checkpoint in meiosis (the process by which sex cells reproduce) allowed sperm production to be safely stopped.
Currently, male contraceptives include condoms and vasectomies.
“Many men are wary of vasectomies, the only long-acting option for men, and they are technically reversible through subsequent surgery,” the study report said.
“Researchers have been especially reluctant to develop a hormonal contraceptive, as such treatments have proven potentially dangerous in women.”
Cornell University Professor of Genetics Paula Cohen said, due to these limitations, the research team wanted to look for non-hormonal contraceptive targets in men.
They explored the potential to stop sperm production without affecting male libido or body features like facial and chest hair, a deep voice and muscle mass.
In the study, the researchers administered a small molecule inhibitor called JQ1 in male mice for three weeks.
They found that the mice produced no sperm and that all the molecular parameters of meiosis were disrupted.
Then they stopped using JQ1 and within six weeks normal sperm production resumed.
The mice were subsequently bred. They remained fertile and their offspring were healthy.
Professor Cohen said a male contraceptive would likely start in the form of an injection taken every three months, or possibly a patch.
The full study report is available here
