The search for male contraceptive proves almost as difficult as Frodo Baggins’ journey to bring the One Ring to Mount Doom. Many scientists have joined this journey, which often has to stop even before reaching the human clinical trials. Therefore, when someone reaches at least that point, that’s great news. And that is precisely what a team of scientists from University of Minnesotawith a drug that it’s not hormonalFor what side effects are greatly reduced.
They presented their results at the spring meeting of the American chemical society, which takes place this week. So far, they’ve only tested their male contraceptive on mice. However, the results have been so positive that they are already considering starting human clinical trials. in the third or fourth quarter of 2022.
Efficacy in animal trials is not always extrapolated to humans, so we must view the results of their work with caution. However, given the difficulty of accessing a male contraceptive beyond condoms or vasectomythere are reasons to watch its progress with cautious optimism.
The race for the male contraceptive
Pills, patches, intrauterine devices, vaginal condoms and, of course, tubal ligation. There are many contraceptive options available for people with vaginas. However, the range of possibilities male contraceptive is much smaller.
At the moment there are only condom and vasectomy. Both are good options, but they have some drawbacks. The first has a very high efficiency percentage and is also the only one that also prevents sexually transmitted infections. However, some people complain that they find it uncomfortable. Also, even though it’s very rare and often happens because it went wrong, can break.
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In reference to vasectomyits biggest disadvantage is that it remains a surgical intervention. Much easier than tubal ligation, yes, but surgery. Moreover, it is initially irreversible. It can be made reversible, but for that you need a new operation, which does not always work.
Currently, there are other male contraceptives that could join this short list, as they are in very advanced stages of research. For example, in India, it was announced in 2019 the completion of human clinical trials of such a drug. The problem is that it was a substance that had to be injected into the male vas deferens, under anesthesia and under medical supervision. Come on, we’re not far from the complexity of vasectomy. And, in addition, it has not yet started to be marketed, so we are still at the same point.
One of the male contraceptives that research has done more than talk about is vasal gel. It is a gel which is also injected into the vas deferens and which has already given good results in animals. A kind of change which opens and closes the sperm outlet! But none of this came to fruition. Not to mention that most are very uncomfortable for those who use them.
For this reason, one tends to look for a male contraceptive comparable to the pill or female patches. At present, there has already been talk of the possibility of a male pill; although, according to the forecast, we will have to wait until end of this decade to have it available. These were the predictions before the COVID-19 pandemic, who knows if the date will not be pushed back yet?
The benefits of a non-hormonal drug
Even if this long-awaited male pill were to be found, it should be kept in mind that the majority that is being investigated are based on hormonesthey can therefore cause many side effects.
In fact, in 2016, clinical trials of a combination of norethisterone and testosterone had to be stopped due to the severe side effects it exhibited. Among them, the most worrying was a mood deterioration which even led one of the participants to suicide.
In 2016, a clinical trial with a hormonal pill was stopped due to very serious side effects
Therefore, the ideal would be a male contraceptive whose mechanism of action would not be based on hormones. And that’s what these scientists at the University of Minnesota realized. They built on previous studies looking at the role of a group of proteins, known as retinoic acid receptors. Retinoic acid is a derivative of the Vitamin A It is involved in many mechanisms. Among them is the good sperm development. Therefore, if it has no receptor to bind to, it will not be able to perform its function and sperm will not be generated.
Previously, the possibility of developing a male contraceptive based on the three types of such receptors that exist had been investigated: alpha, beta and gamma. However, if all three are blocked, other side effects occur. The authors of this latest study found that if only alpha was blocked, very positive results were obtained and adverse effects were significantly reduced. Therefore, they carefully studied the structure of the three proteins, looking for a method to selectively block the retinoic acid receptor alpha (RAR-α).
The result was a drug they named YCT529. Once synthesized, they orally administered it to a group of male mice, which then mated normally with females. It was found that four weeks later, the sperm count was significantly reduced and pregnancy was averted with 99% effectiveness. Moreover, they saw that the effect disappeared four to six weeks after stopping the administration, so it was completely reversible.
It should be remembered once again that this male contraceptive has only been tested on mice. But it is also important to recognize that it has everything a drug of this type needs. It remains only to find out how it behaves with humans. We will be attentive.
