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The wave of the future: male contraception in development
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- Vas occlusive contraception, or intra vas device (IVD)—instead of cutting or tying the vas (as is done in a vasectomy), soft silicone plugs are inserted to block the passageway. Once inserted, the plugs are not felt by the wearer. Researchers believe that the procedure will be much more quickly and easily reversed than a vasectomy because the vas deferens is left intact. An additional benefit is the price: it's projected that under $1,000 will cover this procedure. Considering that the current vasovasostomy procedure (the sometimes-reversible version of the vasectomy) costs between $5,000-12,000, this is an incredible bargain, and much more reliable.
- RISUG, or reversible inhibition of sperm under guidance—This method is incredible because it works by affecting the ability of the sperm to fertilize the egg without affecting testosterone or the other male sex hormones. Sperm are still produced, but the sperm themselves don't contain the enzymes they need to burrow through the jelly-like coat on the outside of an egg and fertilize it. The procedure can be done in 15 minutes, and only involves an injection to implant the RISUG into the vasa deferentia (where the sperm travel on the way out during ejaculation). The best part is, you'll be shooting blanks until you elect to have it reversed by removing the RISUG compound. The earliest participants in this study have had it in place for 15 years with no pregnancies or complications. Very few side effects were noted.
- Adjudin—Another brilliant mechanism for contraceptive delivery, this method works without affecting the male sex hormones. Adjudin is attached to a hormone that targets only the cells that make sperm, so only a very small dose is needed to disrupt sperm maturation. Similar to RISUG, the sperm are released before they are mature enough to fertilize the egg. The effects last 4-6 weeks after the injection, and studies showed that (in animal testing) fertility was fully restored after 5 months without treatment. This product has yet to be tested on humans, so it will be quite a while before it's available to the public (if ever).
- Male hormonal contraception—this is an analog to the type of hormonal contraception available to women currently. Testosterone injections halt sperm production, but researchers observed many side effects. The participants in the studies noted many of the same side effects as women on hormonal birth control—moodiness, weight gain, lack of sex drive. Most men didn't mind the side effects much, and said that the benefit of having control over their reproductive health outweighed the discomfort.
These contraceptive methods all sound like a vast improvement over the status quo, but the fact of the matter is that studies haven't picked up since 2007 because of lack of funding. Pharmaceutical companies like Organon believe that not enough demand exists to make these contraceptives a reality. Studies indicate otherwise, and you can help by filling out a survey at malecontraceptives.org There is most definitely a market and a need for new methods of contraception—about half of all women that begin a contraceptive method will discontinue it within the first year due to dissatisfaction. So if you support reproductive rights, please take a step to help push their development forward.
For more information, see malecontraceptives.org
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