MONDAY, June 3, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- A new hormonal gel could one day be a potential form of birth control for men, researchers reported Sunday. “The development of a safe, highly effective and reliably reversible contraceptive method for men is an unmet need,” senior study author Diana Blithe , chief of the Contraceptive Development Program at the National Institutes of Health, said in a news release announcing findings that were presented Sunday at the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in Boston. In the phase 2 trial, 222 men applied 5 milliliters of the gel (the equivalent of a teaspoon) to each shoulder blade once a day.
The result: 86% of the men reached sperm suppression. On average, the timing for effective contraception was eight weeks, which was faster than expected. “While studies have shown that some hormonal agents may be effective for male contraception, the slow onset of spermatogenic suppression [has been] a limitation,” Blithe noted.
But because this gel includes both testosterone and Nestorone, a synthetic hormone already used in the vaginal contraceptive ring , it acts more quickly and requires less testosterone, she explained. Blithe added that earlier studies of male hormonal contraceptives given by injections showed a median time of between 9 and 15 weeks for sperm output to become suppressed. “A more rapid time to suppression may increase the attractiveness and acceptability of this drug to potential users,” Blithe said.
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