Birth control pills especially designed for men may be made available in ten years, according to a recent study.
Australian researchers believe that a breakthrough experiment could result to the development of oral contraceptives for men in the near future. Monash University scientists genetically modified mice to block two proteins found on the smooth muscle cells which are essential for sperm to travel through the animal's reproductive organs. The result of their study showed that "even though mice had sex normally and were otherwise healthy, they were infertile," said Sabatino Ventura from the said university.
"We've shown that simultaneously disrupting the two proteins that control the transport of sperm during ejaculation causes complete male infertility, but without affecting the long-term viability of sperm or the sexual or general health of males. The sperm is effectively there, but the muscle is just not receiving the chemical message to move it." Venture, along with his colleagues from the University of Melbourne and University of Leicester wants to replicate the genetic process chemically because they believe a male contraceptive pill can be made possible in ten years.
Results of the study published in the US journal of Proceedings of the National Academy of Science showed that the absence of two proteins in mice caused infertility without affecting sexual behavior and the health of animals. Ventura suggests that his approach was non-hormonal so it did not directly impact the development of sperm. "It would block the transport of sperm and then if you're a young guy and you get to a stage where you wanted to start fathering children, you stop taking it and everything should be okay."
