Medical Discovery News
Science permeates everyday life. Yet the understanding of advances in biomedical science is limited at best. Few people make the connection that biomedical science is medicine and that biomedical scientists are working today for the medicine of tomorrow. Our weekly five-hundred-word newspaper column (http://www.illuminascicom.com/) and two-minute radio show provide insights into a broad range of biomedical science topics. Medical Discovery News is dedicated to explaining discoveries in biomedical research and their promise for the future of medicine. Each release is designed to stimulate listeners to think, question and appreciate how science affects their health as well as that of the rest of the world. We also delve into significant biomedical discoveries and portray how science (or the lack of it) has impacted health throughout history.
Medical Discovery News
C'mon Man - A Promising Male Contraceptive
935 Cmon Man a Promising Male Contraceptive
Welcome to Medical Discovery News. I’m Dr. David Niesel
And I’m Dr. Norbert Herzog
After decades of research, men could have their own version of birth control pills if a potential drug makes it to market. Like the ones for women, these also use hormones to achieve contraception.
The treatment uses nestorone to reduce testosterone and limit sperm production in the testes. Then a small amount of testosterone is added back.
It’s enough for maintaining normal sex drive and healthy muscle and bone tissue. Remember, too much testosterone can cause health problems.
The clinical trial enrolled more than two hundred men between eighteen and fifty years old. The hormone was delivered through a gel rubbed onto each shoulder daily.
Once absorbed through the skin, it circulates through the body including the testes. After twelve weeks of daily treatment, nearly ninety percent of the men had enough drop in their sperm count to achieve effective contraception.
A male normally produces about fifteen to two hundred million sperm in a fifth of a teaspoon of semen. After the treatment, these men’s sperm had dropped to below a million and stayed low for about ten weeks.
There was no decrease in sex drive, but some weight gain, and acne around the shoulders. These are more acceptable than the list of side effects women experience on birth control pills.
The study is now testing the gel on three hundred couples. If it makes it past clinical trials, the final test will be whether a drug company sees the benefit of providing true gender equality in birth control.
We are Drs. David Niesel and Norbert Herzog, at UTMB and Quinnipiac University, where biomedical discoveries shape the future of medicine. For much more and our disclaimer go to medicaldiscoverynews.com or subscribe to our podcast. Sign up for expanded print episodes at www.illuminascicom.com
