Men's Room

Male contraceptive jab trials are successful

Following the larger study of its kind, scientists have become one step closer to developing an effective male contraceptive injection.

Researchers at the National Research for Family Planning in Beijing injected 1,000 healthy, fertile males with a testosterone-based jab over a two-year period and found only 1% went on to father a child. As no form of contraception is 100% effective (1-2% of women still fall pregnant despite using the Pill), the results have been hailed as a breakthrough.

The subjects were all aged 20-45 and had previously fathered at least one child in the two years before the testing began. Furthermore, the men were also all involved with healthy female partners between the ages of 18-38, each of whom had no reproductive problems of their own.

Dr Yi-Qun Gu, one of the study's, said: "For couples who cannot or prefer not to use only female-oriented contraception, options have been limited to vasectomy, condoms and withdrawal. Our study shows a male hormonal contraceptive regimen may be a potential, novel and workable alternative."

When the contraceptive Pill was introduced in the 1960s it was heralded as revolutionising sex lives but in doing so it inadvertently placed the obligation of reproductive responsibility onto the women.

Scientists attempted to create a suitable alternative for men but struggled to manage male hormones with the same level of efficiency, unlike with women and the Pill. Previous attempts to develop both a convenient and working male contraceptive failed due to side-effects such as mood swings and a lowered sex drive.

This jab's testing, like its female Pill counterpart, relied on using hormones to stop the production of key elements of the reproductive process.

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The testing was based in China - a country which has invested heavily in reproductive technology to ease its overpopulation problems. Men were given 500mg of testosterone undecanoate (TU) in tea seed oil. The injections resulted in a reduction of two regulatory brain chemicals, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinising hormone (LH) which in turn disrupted sperm production.

The scientists claim that there were none of the usual side-effects and also claim that the process is reversible. Six months after coming off the injections, the men's sperm count had returned to normal, healthy levels. However, Dr Gu stated that further testing would be needed to check how safe testosterone injections are.

Family planning campaigners have welcomed the news as an injection may result in men taking a greater level of responsibility over contraception.

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