Male Contraceptive Pills in 10 Years?

Scientists are working on male contraceptive pills, which might be available within 10 years. Australian researchers have figured out how to block male sperms without adversely affecting sexual health.

The researchers from the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Australia, along with University of Melbourne and the University of Leicester came up with this finding. The research had Dr. Sab Ventura and Dr. Carl White as the lead authors.

The experimenters used healthy male mice for this research and found that two proteins regulate the function of sperm transport through the sex organs during ejaculation. The two proteins are called α1A-adrenoceptor and P2X1-purinoceptor, they are found in the smooth muscle cells.

Researchers figured out that the absence of these two proteins made the mice infertile and did not have any lasting adverse effect on their sexual function. This finding gave the scientists an idea to create contraceptive pills for men.

"Previous strategies have focused on hormonal targets or mechanisms that produce dysfunctional sperm incapable of fertilization, but they often interfere with male sexual activity and cause long term irreversible effects on fertility," Dr. Ventura said in a news release.

"We've shown that simultaneously disrupting the two proteins that control the transport of sperm during ejaculation causes complete male infertility, but without affecting the long-term viability of sperm or the sexual or general health of males. The sperm is effectively there but the muscle is just not receiving the chemical message to move it."

A drug for blocking one of the two proteins already exists; the researchers need to invent a new drug to block the functioning of the other protein.

"This suggests a therapeutic target for male contraception. The next step is to look at developing an oral male contraceptive drug, which is effective, safe, and readily reversible," Dr. Ventura said.

If the researchers find an effective medicine to block the other protein, they will be able to invent oral male contraceptive pills within a decade.

The research has also been published in the Dec.3 edition of the journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, USA.