The success of a daily pill that can temporarily make mice sterile have researchers hoping human trials on a male birth control pill can begin later this year.
News of the pill, which proved to be 99% effective in preventing births in the mice, was reported at the American Chemical Society’s spring meeting.
According to researchers, the pill was given orally to male mice for four weeks. It dramatically reduced sperm counts, was effective in preventing pregnancy and did not cause any adverse events, scientists at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis who are working to develop it for humans, said.
“Scientists have been trying for decades to develop an effective male oral contraceptive, but there are still no approved pills on the market,” said Md Abdullah Al Noman, a graduate student who presented the work at the meeting.
The pill, a non-hormonal drug, targets a protein called retinoic acid receptor (RAR) alpha.
Retinoic acid has a function in sperm formation and the development of the embryo. Retinoic acid interacts with retinoic acid receptor alpha to aid in sperm creation. When RAR-alpha is blocked, sperm does not form, making the male sterile.
Scientists say the drug’s effects were reversed weeks after the rats stopped receiving the pills.
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