The reason

2022-05-20 22:54:37 By : Ms. Jolin Li

More than two decades of research and the male contraceptive pill is still a headache.A recent study carried out by the University of Minnesota claims to have found the key that until now had stopped all progress: a non-hormonal pill, which prevents pregnancy in 99% of cases and, what is more important, has no side effects. secondary.And it is precisely this last aspect that has torpedoed all the research carried out since the end of the last century.Until now, everyone was focused on testosterone, the male hormone, however, it has been proven that the consequences, beyond weight gain, cholesterol and depression, also added impotence and permanent infertility in men.For this reason, the American study could give a relevant twist to the frustrated attempts.Andrologists, that is, doctors and scientists who specialize in the male reproductive system, are at least hopeful.“In the first place, what we must ask ourselves as specialists is what the ideal male contraceptive should be like.In the first place, that it be independent of each sexual act, that is, continuous, that it be acceptable to men and women and that it does not affect the potency and sexual activity of the man.That it does not have secondary effects neither in the semen nor in the future offspring, as well as that it is just as effective as female methods, ”explains Dr. Natalio Cruz, medical director of Andromedi Sevilla, to LA RAZÓN.As he confesses, until now it has been very complex to find something that meets these points because "all the treatments to stop the production of spermatozoa (which account for 10% of semen) have been hormonal through testosterone and progestogen, and what What has been proven is that when the male is withdrawn from the pill, he does not produce sperm again, becoming sterile».Among Caucasian men, between 15 and 20% do not regain reproductive capacity, while, for example, among Asians, this figure drops to between 7 and 8%.“This does not happen in the case of the female pill, fertility is not lost once the intake of the pill is eliminated.In men, in addition, there is another added cost when stopping treatment and that is that libido, the level and quality of the erection are also affected, since testosterone can cause testicular atrophy, ”Cruz details.In fact, although no direct studies have been carried out in this regard, it has been analyzed in the male population that uses testosterone injections among "addicts" to the gym.“When using these anabolics in order to increase their muscle mass, it has been observed that most of them are sterile, they stop producing sperm because the cycles of this hormone atrophy their testicles.The reality is that up to 20% of them will never recover their sexual or reproductive function”, adds the medical director of Andromedi Sevilla.The problem, beyond the resulting consequences, is that to date no other hormone capable of temporarily inhibiting sperm production has been discovered.“That's why the Minnesota study is very promising.After the good results in the trials with mice, it will now start in healthy human volunteers.The novelty of this approach is that it is carried out through a protein that inhibits the progress of the embryonic cell (sperm).That is, it inhibits the RAR gene and causes temporary sterility.What needs to be verified is that it is completely reversible," says Cruz.Until now, the only alternative for men (beyond the condom) is a vasectomy, although according to studies, more than 20% of those who undergo it regret it: «The good thing is that 90% manage to recover it, yes, going through the operating room again.Hence the importance of finding the male pill », he sentences, and then predicts that, if everything goes well, « in two years we could have it on the market »Less optimistic about the speed of the long-awaited contraceptive drug is Dr. Samuel Escalante, an expert in TRT (hormonal replacement treatments) at the Doctor T Clinic. "So far, the studies have not advanced in the clinical trial phases required for reach stage IV.Although the preliminary results are favorable, it is premature to establish an estimated date, time will tell everything," he tells LA RAZÓN.According to Escalante, there is currently multiple research directed at male contraception, "not only intervening in the hormonal axis, but also promising hypotheses such as immuno-contraception directed at the interaction of the sperm and the zona pellucida of the oocyte, what happens is that research in women is decades ahead.If the feminine pill is compared with the potential masculine one, both present consequences or contraindications.Why then are there more objections to administering it to men?"In all research and application of a new drug, we must bear in mind the concept of benefit-risk that we must apply to any drug or therapy, always individualizing the particular case of patients," Escalante points out.Regarding the feared sequelae, this doctor concludes that they cannot be specified in a general way when talking about a hormonal pill, since “everything depends on the therapeutic target of the hormonal axis and that will be linked to the adverse effects.However, the best known are androgens (such as testosterone) administered exogenously to suppress pituitary gonadotropins (LH and FSH).As a result, intratesticular testosterone (T) production and spermatogenesis are suppressed, while androgen action is maintained in other peripheral target tissues, preventing symptomatic hypogonadism.Studies report minimal changes in weight, serum lipids, and PSA.”At this point, Escalante makes a point to underline that “as with any medication, a high dose causes more harm than good.It is also relevant to understand that testosterone per se is not a deleterious hormone for health.On the contrary, men must have sufficient blood levels to live optimally, with restorative sleep cycles, adequate muscle mass, among other benefits.In fact, adds the doctor, it is precisely from this physiological concept that TRT (Testosterone Replacement Therapy) is born, which, if applied in the correct doses, "achieves its greatest advantages."Far from pigeonholing testosterone as the "greater evil", Escalante does recognize that "however, in studies looking for contraception in men, the doses necessary to inhibit spermatogenesis are high enough to cause the aforementioned adverse effects".For this reason, the tortuous path to obtain a suitable pill continues to generate certain distrust among citizens, waiting for science to achieve the perfect "formula".Although the first reason that has so far stopped all scientific advances to create the male pill, experts also allude to a "cultural cause" that points to the reason for greater speed in the female variant than in that of men.This is stated by Dr. Natalio Cruz: «There are certain cultural connotations, two of them very important.The responsibility for contraception at the social level has always been placed on the woman, who is the one who, ultimately, will become pregnant.The man may show greater nonchalance in this regard because he will not be the one to develop the pregnancy.To this is added the mistrust of women to their sexual partner taking that pill or not, unless we are talking in the context of a stable couple.On the other hand, the man also shows refusal to ingest anything that can affect his virility »