Male Contraceptive Trials to Begin

Around the world, a collective sigh will emit from every woman once researchers give the final okay that male contraceptives are ready for production and distribution. For some women it will mean no longer having to remember to take that little pill every morning or every week or having to schedule a quarterly shot. For many women, it will mean that the responsibility, both financial and physical, of preventing unintended pregnancies does not remain solely and heavily on their shoulders. Spurring this wondrous day along is a new study being conducted by University of Manchester researchers on the new male contraceptive.

This trial is being done to test how effective the contraceptive is and its participants are couples in stable relationships that have agreed to temporarily throw out their normal birth control methods to test out this new one. The males involved in this study are between the ages of 18 and 45 and will be given testosterone injections infused with an additional hormone that studies have shown slows down the production of sperm. Although a similar trial was conducted in China, this new study will not require the men to have as many injections because the hormones have been combined.

The hormones include Testosterone undecanoate and Norethisterone enantate; previous studies have shown that these hormones are safe and only a few people experienced side effects that were mild when using them. The study will span a full year with each male participant receiving four injections in the first half of the year. Through the course of the trial, each male participant will have their sperm levels measured to see if the count has maintained a level below fertility. The study will have 400 couples total with 60 coming from Manchester and the other 340 couples from across the rest of the globe. Over the year, the couples will be advised to only use the male contraceptive for birth control and not to rely on any other methods. Once the study has been completed, the male participants will have their sperm count checked to see how long it takes for their fertility levels to reach a normal state.

Frederick Wu, the head of the research team, states, “There is currently a great imbalance of contraceptive methods between men and women with almost 20 different female methods compared to only condoms and vasectomy for men. The World Health Organization wants to provide more male contraceptive choices – especially reversible methods – to allow couples to better plan their families. We know from previous studies that any side-effects are minor, while the risk of pregnancy with this hormonal treatment is similar to that of the female pill and far less than the risks posed by using barrier methods alone. Couples taking part in the trial are likely to be married or in long-term relationships and may be looking for alternatives to their existing methods of contraception.’’