A new male contraception drug prevents sperm from swimming

Scientists have discovered a cell route, or switch, that prevents sperm from being able to swim claim that an on-demand, non-hormonal male contraceptive pill may be a reality.

According to studies done on mice, it keeps sperm shocked for at least a few hours, which is enough time for them to cease moving toward the egg. It is intended to do many more tests, first on rabbits and then on humans. The concept is that users might take a pill an hour before having sex and watch the time to
see when it wears off.

How does it work?

It doesn’t use hormones as the female contraceptive pill does. One benefit of the strategy under investigation, according to scientists, is that it won’t deplete testosterone or have any adverse effects associated with male hormone insufficiency.

Instead, they are focusing on soluble adenylyl cyclase, also known as sAC, a cellular signalling protein, as the “sperm-swim” switch. The experimental male enhancement drug reduces or stops sAC.

“We’re utilizing a gel for male contraception, “Why are we still waiting for the male pill?
The drug, known as TDI-11861, immobilized sperm before, during, and after mating in the early mouse trial, which was supported by the US National Institutes of Health and reported in the journal Nature Communications.

Almost three hours passed before the effect faded. After 24 hours, the following batch of sperm appeared to be swimming normally, suggesting that it had completely worn off.

Dr Melanie Balbach from Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, one of the investigators, said it has the potential as a reversible, simple-to-use contraceptive.

If it ultimately proves effective in humans, men could be able to take it only as often as necessary. They could decide daily how fertile they would be. But specialists caution that it would not offer protection against STDs. For that, condoms would be required.

Prof Allan Pacey, professor of andrology at the University of Sheffield, said: “There is a pressing need for an effective, reversible, oral contraceptive for men and although many different approaches have been tested over the years, none has yet reached the market.

Although many different methods have been studied over the years, none have yet made it to the market, according to Prof. Allan Pacey, professor of andrology at the University of Sheffield. “There is a great need for an effective, reversible oral contraceptive for males,” he said.

“The strategy presented here is a genuinely novel approach to inhibit a key enzyme required for sperm movement. The fact that it can act and reverse so quickly is quite amazing.

“If the studies on mice can be replicated in humans with the same level of efficacy, then this may very well be the male contraceptive approach we have been waiting for.

“Laboratory testing on human sperm revealed that it functions in the same manner. Hence, I believe that does increase the likelihood that we can conduct some human studies.”By inhibiting a protein on the surface of sperm, other researchers have been investigating a slightly different approach to stop sperm swimming.

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