If you are trying to avoid getting pregnant and are taking birth control pills, you might be interested to know that someday in the not too distant future, men may also have a birth control pill of their own.
A recent research report that was published in the December 2009 issue of The FASEB Journal might someday mean that men will have a similar type of birth control as women who are on the pill.
Scientists have now discovered how and where male androgenic hormones function in the testis to control both normal sperm production and male fertility. This opens the door for the future development of “the pill” for men.
In addition, this new discovery offers hope to couples who can’t conceive because of low sperm counts. The research was conducted in mice, but a similar effect is likely to occur in other mammals, including human beings.
“This study provides a new opportunity to identify how androgens control sperm production, which could provide new insight for the development of new treatments for male infertility and perhaps new male contraceptives,” said Michelle Welsh, Ph.D., co-author of the study, from the Centre for Reproductive Biology at The Queen’s Medical Research Institute in Edinburgh, UK.
Dr. Welsh and her colleagues made the discovery by performing studies in two groups of mice. The first group of mice was normal, and the second group of mice was missing a gene from the peritubular myoid cells in the testis.
The gene that was missing contains codes for the androgen hormone receptor, and sperm production was significantly decreased when compared to the normal group that was not missing that particular gene. The result was infertility.
“Although ‘the pill’ arguably has been liberating for women since its development in the 1960s, a similar birth control drug for men has been elusive,” said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal. “Not only does this research pinpoint androgenic hormones and their cellular receptors as prime targets for the development of new birth control drugs, but it promises to speed the development of new agents to boost sperm production.”
It seems that a birth control pill for men who wish to take charge of their fertility is just around the corner!
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