The hunt for the male contraceptive is a long-standing activity. At the moment, the options available are quite old or “radical”: you can choose between condoms and a vasectomy. Fantastic, right?
Now, a new drug developed by Weill Cornell Medicine promises to change this state of affairs. It is a male contraceptive in pill form, to be taken just before sexual intercourse and able to reduce fertility for 24 hours.
How does the new male contraceptive work?
Past attempts continue to prove ineffective, have too many side effects, take a long time to start or wear off, or a combination of these. The newly developed drug does none of these: Instead, it works by blocking a protein called soluble adenylyl cyclase (sAC), which is essential for sperm function. In tests carried out on mice, the drug inhibited sperm motility within 30-60 minutes and maintained its effect for at least 2,5 hours. After 24 hours, the mice had returned to their full fertility.
The research found no negative effects after administering the drug to mice for six consecutive weeks (quite a few, to be really picky). Plus, the pill is less invasive than any experimental male contraceptive: Virtually all of the existing ones require uncomfortable injections and weeks to reduce fertility.
The possibilities
As you can imagine, the discovery (published in the journal Nature Communications, I link it to you here) could forever change the accessibility and flexibility of male contraceptives, reducing the pressure on women to handle most of the responsibility for contraception.
On the "playful" side, at the same time, the new male contraceptive from Weil Cornell can be used in a rather flexible way.
Anyone who wants can use it as a daily regimen, or just as a short-term solution in anticipation of a particularly "buzzing" night.
The only limit, it is worth saying, is your imagination!
