One of the latest experimental candidates for a male birth control drug is a compound that would be taken much like the daily birth control pill available for women. A pilot study presented [March 18] at the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting suggests that the compound—called dimethandrolone undecanoate (DMAU)—can be safe and effective in human test subjects.
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[T]he volunteers who took DMAU experienced a drop in their levels of testosterone and two other hormones involved in producing sperm, which was starkest in those who took the highest dose. The study didn’t directly test their sperm, since it takes around three months for lowered hormone levels to significantly reduce someone’s sperm count. But the researchers say the hormone levels seen in the high-dose group have been shown to predict infertility in earlier studies of male contraception treatments. Conversely, the levels among all DMAU volunteers returned back to normal within a month’s time after the therapy was stopped.“[It’s] a big step forward in the development of the male pill,” said senior author Stephanie Page.
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The few side effects Page’s team observed were weight gain and lowered levels of HDL cholesterol (the “good” kind). But they feel a tweaked dose could alleviate these symptoms. Importantly, the pill didn’t seem to cause any other lasting symptoms of low testosterone.
Read full, original post: A Once-a-Day Male Birth Control Pill Shows Promise in Human Trial
