The future of male contraception: a fertile ground

Abstract

The continued and rapid expansion of the Earth’s population mandates the need for safe and effective measures of contraception. While a plethora of options exist for women, methods of contraception for the male partner are limited to condoms and vasectomy. The sequela of this discrepancy has led to the family planning burden falling disproportionately on the female partner. For the past several decades, extensive research has been undertaken exploring the feasibility of hormonal male contraception. This proposed method of contraception has focused on suppressing spermatogenesis by exploiting the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis. Beginning with proof of concept studies in the early nineties, administration of testosterone in healthy male subjects has been shown to be an efficacious method of inducing sterility. Owing to ethnic differences in spermatogenesis suppression and the comparatively low rate of azoospermia in Caucasian men with androgen-only regimens, investigators have explored the addition of progestins to further enhance the efficacy of hormonal contraception. Though studies have revealed promise with androgen-progestin regimens, the lack of long-term studies has precluded the development of a marketable product. Recently, more research has been directed towards identifying non-hormonal alternatives to male contraception. These non-hormonal options have ranged from the development of devices facilitating reversible occlusion of the vas deferens lumen to medications disrupting various pathways in the process of spermatogenesis. Underlying the development of hormonal and non-hormonal strategies is the shared enthusiasm men and women have towards these male directed methods. The willingness of couples to pursue these alternatives combined with the global need to reduce the psychological and socioeconomic implications of unintended pregnancy ensures that research will continue to bring this goal to fruition.

Towards responsible ejaculations: the moral imperative for male contraceptive responsibility

“…Cite as: Shahvisi, Arianne, Toward responsible ejaculations: the moral imperative for male contraceptive responsibility, Journal of Medical Ethics (forthcoming) 22 these vaso-occlusive methods are the reversible inhibition of sperm under guidance (RISUG) which involves the injection of an obstructive polymer in the vas deferens, and the intra-vas device (IVD), an injectable plug which filters sperm from passing through (see e.g. [59,60]).…”

Prospek Kontrasepsi Pria dalam Pengendalian Pertumbuhan Penduduk melalui Pendekatan Molekular

“…Rata-rata perkembangan populasi penduduk dunia saat ini diperkirakan meningkat sekitar 80 juta orang per tahun dan diperkirakan peningkatannya akan melebihi angka 9 miliar pada tahun 2050. 1 Pertumbuhan penduduk yang PUSLITBANG Sinergis Asa Professional, Jember terlalu pesat akan mempengaruhi berbagai aspek kehidupan termasuk aspek sosial, ekonomi, ekologi, sains, dan medis. Para peneliti di bidang sains dan medis melakukan berbagai cara untuk dapat mengendalikan pertumbuhan penduduk yang sangat cepat khususnya di negara berkembang.…”

“…Para peneliti di bidang sains dan medis melakukan berbagai cara untuk dapat mengendalikan pertumbuhan penduduk yang sangat cepat khususnya di negara berkembang. 1,2,3 Sejak Salah satu cara yang sering dipakai dalam pengendalian pertumbuhan penduduk adalah kontrasepsi. Salah satu penyebab sedikitnya penggunaan kontrasepsi pada pria adalah terbatasnya jumlah pilihan pada kontrasepsi pria.…”

Fifty years of reproductive biology in Australia: highlights from the 50th Annual Meeting of the Society for Reproductive Biology (SRB)

“…Moreover, the previous dogma that FSH is also essential for spermatogenesis has been convincingly disproven via several gene knockout models. Understanding the HPG axis has allowed both effective treatment of HPG disorders and the proposal of multiple contraceptive strategies, which take advantage of the testosterone negative feedback loop to induce reliable and reversible azoospermia (for a review, see Khourdaji et al 2018). Looking forward, there are concerns about the current state of steroid immunoassays, because increasing drive towards greater throughput of assays has detracted from their reliability, resulting in a loss of accuracy in testosterone measurement in clinical and experimental settings (Handelsman et al 2015), and the wider use of steroid mass spectrometry is needed.…”