Contraception has always been a women’s affair. And for good reason, the latter have several contraceptive methods, while the solutions offered for men remain few and unknown. But that could soon change. American researchers have developed a hormone-free pill that is 99% effective in mice.
- According to the #MoiJeune 20 Minutes-OpinionWay study, 37% of adults questioned said they were ready to take a male pill, provided that it was reimbursed.
Until now, contraceptive methods for men have suffered from problems of acceptance of treatment by men and a lack of investment in research. Scientists had always focused on testosterone to develop a male pill.
“In recent years, among the different avenues of research, there have been anti-testosterone treatments. But the problem with these treatments was the side effects, with low libido, erection problems, fatigability”, said, to France InterMichael Grynberg, head of the gynecology-obstetrics department at Antoine-Béclère Hospital.
But the pill could perhaps soon pass for the male sex. On March 23, a group of American researchers revealed that they had developed a male contraceptive method that would not cause any adverse effects. The particularity of this pill? It doesn’t run on hormones.
YCT529 molecule targets RAR-alpha protein to reduce sperm production
To arrive at this discovery, which could make it possible to share the mental load linked to contraception more equitably, the scientists tested more than 100 molecules to identify a drug candidate that targets a protein called “retinoic acid receptor alpha (RAR-alpha )”. According to scientists, this protein is involved in cell development and sperm formation.
After their tests, the researchers developed a molecule called “YCT529”. They gave it to male mice for four weeks. According to the results, their sperm count had dropped. The YCT529 molecule would have been 99% effective in preventing pregnancy. Between four and six weeks after stopping treatment, the mice were able to reproduce normally again.
No adverse effects reported
According to the results, no side effects were observed. “When we went up to a dose 100 times the effective dose, the compound showed no toxicity”indicated, to the magazine New Scientist, Md Abdullah Al Noman of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, who presented the results of this research at the American Chemical Society Spring 2022 conference in San Diego, California. According to the scientists, clinical trials in humans to assess the safety and efficacy of the treatment are planned for the end of 2022.
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