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  • Title: Male contraceptive sought.
    Author: Marmar JL.
    Journal: Plan Parent Rev; 1983; 3(2):8-9. PubMed ID: 12265637.
    Abstract:
    Despite advances in most areas of fertility control over the past 20 years, development of a "male pill" has lagged. Factors cited to explain the poor progress include lack of initiative of drug companies, inadequate funding of research, and the reluctance of males to use chemicals in their own bodies. However, the call for an all-out effort to develop a male pill comparable to the effort to develop oral contraceptives for women may ignore the fact that controlling spermatogenesis in men is a fundamentally more complex problem than controlling ovulation in women. A male pill, while being fully reversible, would need to interrupt the development process of the millions of sperm produced daily without significant adverse effects on libido or potency, without mutagenic effects. Among possible male contraceptives being tested are gonadotropin releasing hormone agonists and analogs, which temporarily block spermatogenesis. The compounds, however, also cause loss of libido and potency, requiring administration of testosterone, and they are currently available only in injectable form. Combinations of the male sex hormone testosterone and the female sex hormone administered in silastic capsules, but more advanced studies are needed for possible human use. In China, over 9000 volunteers have taken gossypol, a derivative of cottonseed oil, yielding an effectiveness rate of 98.4%, but the substance has such side effects as potassium depletion, loss of hair, dermatitis, and decreased libido. Attempts to develop a contraceptive vaccine have reached the stage of animal studies, with antibodies to follicle stimulating hormone and an enzyme known as LDH-X among the promising results. Before the male pill becomes a reality, some economic and social problems must be overcome. The exact level of research funding support devoted to male contraceptives is difficult to determine, but stiff competition for contraceptive research dollars has undoubtedly limited the funding available for development of a male pill. For example, several million dollars have been spent in study of the possible relationship between vasectomy and subsequent atherosclerosis. Corporate and private foundations have contributed research funds, and pharmaceutical companies should be prodded to take a more active role. Some recent survey evidence and the fact that some 40 million men throughout the world rely on the condom suggest that a male pill would attract widespread use.
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