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What if, before each sexual intercourse, men took a pill that blocked their sperm for a few hours before giving them their freedom? Performed on mice, a study published on Tuesday opens this track still far from becoming reality.
A molecule has arrived”reduce male fertility rapidly and temporarily in mice“, sums up a press release from the magazine NatureCommunications in which this work was published.
The male pill, an inaccessible Grail?
Male contraception is currently reduced to the use of condoms and the possibility of undergoing a vasectomy, the effects of which may be irreversible.
The male pill has remained an unattainable goal for decades, for complex reasons that stem from a lack of interest from the pharmaceutical industry, as well as real physiological challenges to be overcome.
However, several projects have obtained interesting results after testing in humans. But they still need to be confirmed on larger samples.
The study published on Tuesday is at a much earlier stage since it was carried out on mice.
The first track for an “on demand” contraceptive
Nevertheless, it has the advantage of opening a new track since it is a “one-off” contraceptive and not, like the female pill, a treatment to be taken over time to ensure its effect.
The molecule studied blocks the action of an enzyme, soluble adenylate cyclase (or TDI-11861), which plays a central role in sperm motility. The latter are therefore blocked for several hours, as evidenced by the video of the researchers below.
In mice treated with TDI-11861, the molecule prevented all pregnancies when intercourse took place within two hours after administration. On the other hand, it no longer had any effect 24 hours later, without any side effects being reported.
“Our inhibitor works in 30 minutes to an hour“, said Dr. Balbach, co-author of the study. “All other hormonal and non-hormonal experimental male contraceptives take weeks to reduce sperm count or render them unable to fertilize eggs“.
Results that remain to be confirmed in humans
Still, it is impossible to know, as it stands, if this treatment would work in the same way in humans. The next step for the research team is to repeat their experiments in a different preclinical model. These experiments would lay the groundwork for clinical trials in humans.
“I remain a little skeptical that this method will one day be marketed.“, admitted to AFP the British researcher Susan Walker, a specialist in contraception, who was not involved in the study.
However, while Mrs Walker remains cautious in view of the failure of many attempts, she recognizes a “striking advantage“to this potential treatment, the promise of immediate efficacy.
In real life, she notes, this might reassure a woman who finds her partner taking this pill in front of her.