Scientists at Cornell University may be closing in on the long-sought “holy grail” of male contraception: a safe, reversible, nonhormonal method that completely halts sperm production. In a breakthrough mouse study, researchers used a compound called JQ1 to temporarily shut down meiosis—the critical process that produces sperm—without causing lasting harm. After treatment stopped, sperm production bounced back, fertility returned, and the animals produced healthy offspring.
  • squaresinger@lemmy.worldEnglish
    42·
    6 days ago

    Can’t get a vasectomy if you plan having kids.

    But actual issue is no, we do not have another option, because this study has been done on mice, so even if it would actually happen it would take easily 10 years before it would go to market.

    What’s worse is that it won’t happen. Google RISUG, Smart RISUG, Vasalgel and Plan A.

    These are simple polymers that are injected into the vas deferens of a man and stay there for years up to decades, making the man sterile. It’s easily reversible, has no side effects and just disables fertility. And it’s been blocked by pharma companies since the 70s, because it would cost them massive amounts of money if women wouldn’t need to pay for expensive and short-lasting contraception methods.

    The situation that only women have access to decent methods of contraception sucks, and the most infuriating part is that it doesn’t have to be, but because it would cost some rich assholes money, they purposely keep the situation as is.

    Believe me, most men would much prefer to have access to good methods of contraception, but we are essentially stuck at the same level since the 1920s.

    • Velma@lemmy.todayEnglish
      5·
      6 days ago

      The situation that only women have access to decent methods of contraception sucks, and the most infuriating part is that it doesn’t have to be, but because it would cost some rich assholes money, they purposely keep the situation as is.

      There is that angle as well as the fact that most men would not use male birth control if there are side effects.

      Women have more motivation to be on birth control regardless of the side effects because pregnancy is a worse outcome than those side effects.

      For years, people have tried to create birth control for men. The World Health Organization commissioned what sounded like a promising trial, a two-hormone injection designed to lower sperm count. Initial results looked like it would be 96 percent effective in preventing pregnancy in the participants’ partners. But the Stage II trial was stopped after an independent review panel found that the drug had too many side effects. The results were published last week in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

      Link

      • squaresinger@lemmy.worldEnglish
        11·
        5 days ago

        Yeah, I’d say having a study participant trying to commit suicide because of the birth control is kinda severe.

        But also look at who cancelled the study. Was it the participants? Was it the potential customers? Or was it a company that was afraid of lawsuits?

        I don’t like you trying to blame “the men” because some suits pulled the plug because they feared losing money.

        The thing with the vasalgel/RISUG thing is that there aren’t any reported side effects and it still was cancelled.

        If you look at actual research, there’s actually quite a demand for novel male contraception methods:

        The proportion of male participants in clinical trials reporting willingness to use a male contraceptive ranged from 34% to 82% and the proportion from surveys about hypothetical methods ranged from 14% to 83% [2]. Specific to the United States (US), a population survey conducted in 2002 of 1500 men reported willingness among 49.3% of respondents [6]; two decades later, an online survey of 2066 men from the US and Canada reported willingness among 75% of respondents

        https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S001078242400101X

        • Velma@lemmy.todayEnglish
          1·
          5 days ago

          I wasn’t blaming “the men”, it’s just a fact that the side effects were severe enough to not continue taking that birth control. And it’s also true that side effects aren’t as much of a factor in women’s birth control because pregnancy is worse than those side effects.

          I even agreed that the main reason was:

          because it would cost some rich assholes money, they purposely keep the situation as is.

          I just expanded on it.

    • gian @lemmy.grys.itEnglish
      1·
      5 days ago

      Can’t get a vasectomy if you plan having kids.

      In recent years it seems that vasecomy reversal it getting better and better; it could be not that far in the future when the vasectory would not be considered permanent.