Injection that lowers sperm count ‘96% effective in preventing unwanted pregnancies’
- Men were given the hormone-based injections every couple of months
- It’s designed to lower sperm counts by acting on the brain’s pituitary gland
- Couples relying on the injection to prevent pregnancy found it effective
- But side effects included depression, acne and an increased libido
Colin Fernandez Science Correspondent For The Daily Mail
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A male contraceptive jab that is as effective as the female birth control pill has been developed.
The injection reduced pregnancy rates by 96 per cent in men – a similar level to the female contraceptive pill.
The hormone-based jab is designed to lower sperm counts by acting on the brain’s pituitary gland.
Over a year-long trial on 350 men, only four pregnancies occurred among the men’s partners.
An injected male contraceptive has been shown to be almost 100 per cent effective, scientists claim. It reduced sperm count to one million per millilitre or fewer within 24 weeks
However, researchers said more work was needed to address the treatment’s reported side effects, which included depression and other mood disorders, muscle pain, acne and increased libido.
The side effects caused 20 men to drop out of the trial.
Dr Mario Festin, from the World Health Organisation in Geneva, Switzerland, said: ‘The study found it is possible to have a hormonal contraceptive for men that reduces the risk of unplanned pregnancies in the partners of men who use it.
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‘Our findings confirmed the efficacy of this contraceptive method previously seen in small studies.’
The injections contained a long-acting form of progestogen, a hormone that has the effect of blocking sperm production controlled by the pituitary gland.
Testosterone was added to counter-balance reductions in levels of the male hormone resulting from the treatment.
After an initial period during which couples used both the injections and other birth control methods, the men entered the study’s ‘efficacy phase’ and relied on the jabs alone.
Nearly 96 per cent of couples relying on the injection to prevent unplanned pregnancies found it to be effective, researchers found
Throughout the efficacy phase, which lasted up to a year, the men were given injections every two months.
In 274 men, the injection reduced sperm count to one million per millilitre or fewer within 24 weeks.
Scientists stopped enrolling new participants into the study in 2011 owing to the rate of reported side effects.
ARE YOU ON THE PILL? YOU’RE MORE LIKELY TO BE DEPRESSED
Women taking hormonal contraceptives may be at increased risk of depression, a study found last month.
Those using skin patches which deliver a synthetic version of the hormone progesterone were most likely to be prescribed an antidepressant.
Users of the ring and coil were 60 and 40 per cent more likely respectively, scientists discovered.
Women on the most popular type of Pill were 23 per cent more likely to be prescribed an antidepressant than non-users.
While teenagers on the Pill appeared to be more vulnerable than older women, experts found.
Of the 1,491 incidents, nearly 39 per cent were found to be unrelated to the treatment. They included one suicide.
One man experienced an abnormally fast and irregular heartbeat when he stopped receiving the injections.
At the end of the trial, three-quarters of the men said they would be willing to continue using the contraceptive jab.
The results are reported in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology Metabolism, published by the Endocrine Society.
Dr Festin said: ‘More research is needed to advance this concept to the point that it can be made widely available to men as a method of contraception.
‘Although the injections were effective in reducing the rate of pregnancy, the combination of hormones needs to be studied more to consider a good balance between efficacy and safety.’
Prof Allan Pacey, professor of Andrology, University of Sheffield, said: ‘There is certainly an unmet need for an effective reversible contraceptive for men, along the lines of the hormonal contraceptive for women.
‘However, none of the preparations that have been developed and tested to date have managed to become a commercial reality for one reason or another.
‘In this latest study, the authors used a combination of hormones (progesterone and testosterone) to try and take the science forward.
‘Using long-acting injectable forms of these hormones they were able to suppress the production of sperm to a remarkable degree.
‘As such, this contraceptive was extremely effective and therefore certainly has promise.’
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