Pill for men: when?

2003/04/20 Galarraga Aiestaran, Ana - Elhuyar Zientzia

• Anatomia/Fisiologia
• Osasuna
• Medikuntza

Condoms also serve to prevent the transmission of sexual diseases and there are more and more options.

There are male contraceptives, the best known are the condom and vasectomy. But both have difficulties. On the one hand, the condom also serves not to infect diseases sexually; however, there are several who prefer to play completely naked in loving games. On the other hand, vasectomy is very effective, but since it is not reversible, the choice is usually made by men who do not want to have more children.

In order to offer a new path, researchers have tried to make contraception equivalent to women. It is a female hormonal pill that acts by preventing ovulation and is very safe and effective. However, when researchers have tried to do the same for men, they have encountered many drawbacks.

One way is to block the process of sperm generation. By increasing the level of male testosterone hormone this effect is achieved: testosterone prevents the secretion of hypothalamus hormones, so no sperm are produced. However, testosterone cannot be taken by mouth, as it degrades in the stomach and is harmful to the liver. Instead of doing it verbally, it can be injected, but the daily puncture is not very attractive, isn't it?

Warm

If sperm cannot move, they do not have access to the egg.

Another way is the use of heat: it is enough that in the testicles the temperature rises one or two degrees to avoid the production of sperm. In fact, it does not influence the sperm formation process, but the maturation process, that is, because of the heat, the immature sperm do not mature, so they are not able to move and fertilize the egg. Then, put on special underpants that will increase the temperature of your testicles and you’re done!

No, it's not that easy. And to ensure that the process of maturation of sperm is completely blocked, you have to wait at least three months, during which hot briefs should be unnecessarily carried. And in winter, well, but in summer later carry testicles should not be very pleasant.

Apart from physical methods, and back to chemicals, there is the possibility of using chemicals to reduce sperm mobility. It has been proven that some chlorinated compounds have this influence. If sperm cannot move, they cannot fertilize the egg, so it can be a solution. In addition, taking these chlorinated compounds for two weeks is enough to detect the condition. But here too is one: they have not yet invented the system to produce these chemical compounds in large quantities.

"Well, I didn't think it was wrong for the girl to worry about this issue. And if I forget to take the pill, what?"

All of them have been the last sessions, have been many more previous and have not advanced, since some had serious side effects and others were nothing practical.

From medicine to contraception

However, recently a molecule dedicated to the treatment of certain diseases has awakened hope. This molecule is called NB-DNJ and is a sugar, not a hormone. It is used to treat the evil of Gaucher. Those affected by this disease have a hypertrophy in the spleen and liver and with NB-DNJ it is possible to relieve symptoms.

The problem is that this same molecule has now been tested with another disease, that of Fabry. This disease is inherited and some of the symptoms are kidney failure and hypertension. NB-DNJ began to be administered to patients and for three weeks saw males being sterilized. If the molecule ceases, after three weeks they would reproduce again.

The NB-DNJ molecule acts on the testicles, specifically on sperm production. It does not prevent the formation of sperm, but they are not completed properly: some of the membrane components of sperm, sphingolipids, do not occur. As a result, sperm are distorted and unable to reach the egg due to mobility problems.

All this has been demonstrated in male mice and researchers believe that the same happens in men. At the moment, the molecule does not appear toxic, as no serious side effects have been detected when used to treat other diseases. In addition, hormone levels do not change, so it does not affect ‘virility’. And that's important: some of the contraceptive methods that have been tested in men influenced hormonal levels, and in some cases the characteristics of females appeared: they lose body hair, thin the voice and eliminate passion for sex. Of course, there is no man willing to suffer these consequences.

However, to market this molecule will have to pass countless tests. Several researchers have also warned of the involvement of sphingolipids in other cells and the possibility of damage to them. They will have to be very careful. And they are not working with anything. What not?

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