New Contraceptive Pill May Become Birth Control Options For Men

May, 2022 - By SMI

Scientists reported a novel non-hormonal male contraceptive pill proved to be effective in mice as it disrupted a specific protein involved in formation of sperm and prevented pregnancy

Birth control for women is available in different form such as pills, intrauterine device, patches etc. Now, a team of scientists at the University of Minnesota developed a non-hormonal contraceptive pill for men that was proven to be efficient at preventing pregnancy in mice. As reported in the research published in the journal ACS Chemistry for Life on March 23, 2022, the new contraceptive pill disrupted a specific protein involved in formation of sperm showing promising effects with reversibility within weeks without causing any side effects.

The study targeted a protein known as RAR-α, that participates in cell differentiation, which comprises production of sperm. In previous studies, it was found that suppressing activities of RAR-α gene in mice makes them sterile. For inhibition of RAR-α in cells, the team studied 100 compounds and found one that is effective, YCT529. The team found that this particular compound was able to inhibit RAR-α with 500 times more efficiency than other related RAR proteins and this was expected to decrease potential harmful side effects.

Furthermore, the scientists also tested YCT529 by administering oral its oral dosage in mice for four weeks. This resulted into significant reduction of sperm count in mice and it prevented pregnancy with 99% efficiency. Plus, there were no side effects in mice as they fathered young in four to six weeks after discontinuing the treatment. Nonetheless, as per the team, carrying these same results is not guaranteed, yet the human clinical trials of this non-hormonal contraceptive pill are expected to start in the end of 2022, which will give elaborated understanding of this study.