Researchers at the American Weill College of Medicine have made progress in developing a male birth control drug that has proven effective in tests conducted on mice.
According to the study, the results of which were published in the “Nature” medical journal, the effectiveness of the drug, which was tested on mice, begins to work within 30 minutes of giving it.
The study indicated that what distinguishes the new drug is that it works quickly, unlike other tested birth control methods, which usually take months to start effective.
Also, the new drug does not have any side effects, according to what the “UPI” news agency quoted from the American study.
The study said: “In the future, we will have an effective drug that enables men to control birth control, by taking it before sex.”
How does the drug work?
- Unlike the female contraceptive pill, the new drug does not contain any hormones.
- The drug will not affect the “testosterone” hormone, and thus will not cause any side effects in terms of male hormone deficiency.
- The drug targets the enzyme adenylylase, which is essential for sperm motility and maturation.
- 30 minutes after the drug was given to lab mice by injection, the sperms stopped moving and maturing, resulting in “temporary infertility”.
- The drug continues to inhibit sperm for 2.5 hours, after which time the sperm regain their motility.
- By 24 hours after taking the drug, the mice are able to fully fertilize again.
