A new male contraceptive gel takes effect in just eight weeks, sooner than similar male contraceptive methods, according to a new study.
Researchers have found that the gel, which is applied to the shoulder blades, works faster than other experimental hormone-based birth control methods.
It combines two hormones, segesterone acetate and testosterone, which work together to suppress sperm production.
For the study, 222 men applied the gel once a day to each shoulder blade and participated in sperm count tests every four weeks.
The threshold considered effective for contraception was one million or fewer sperm per milliliter of semen.
According to the findings, presented at the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in Boston, 86 percent of the men in the study reached this sperm count by week 15.
Researchers have found that the gel, which is applied to the shoulder blades, works faster than other experimental hormone-based birth control methods (file photo)
Among those men, sperm production was suppressed in an average time of less than eight weeks of treatment.
Researchers say previous studies on male hormonal contraceptives administered by injection showed an average time of between nine and 15 weeks for sperm production to be suppressed.
Lead researcher Diana Blithe, head of the contraceptive development program at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, US, said: “A faster time to suppression may increase the appeal and acceptability of this drug. for potential users.
For the study, 222 men applied the gel once a day to each shoulder blade and participated in sperm count tests every four weeks (stock)
‘The development of a safe, highly effective and reliably reversible male contraceptive method is an unmet need.
“While studies have shown that some hormonal agents may be effective for male contraception, the slow onset of spermatogenic suppression is a limitation.” The gel contains 8 milligrams (mg) of segesterone acetate and 74 mg of testosterone.
Now that the sperm suppression stage of the study is complete, investigators will examine the effectiveness, safety, acceptability, and reversibility of contraception after treatment is completed.
A major obstacle in the development of a daily contraceptive for men has been the persistent fear among many women of forgetting to take it.
However, a British study, involving a contraceptive gel with a slightly different formula, found that men could be trusted to take its pill equivalent.
Most participants used the gel for a full year and 90 percent remembered to rub it on their shoulder every day.
