One of the belated data-based nominee for a male birth dominance drug is a chemical compound that would be taken much like the daily parentage control pill usable for women . A pilot studypresentedSunday at the Endocrine Society ’s annual confluence suggests that the compound — called dimethandrolone undecanoate ( DMAU)—can be safe and effective in human run subject .
researcher afford DMAU to a hundred good for you grownup volunteers from the ages of 18 to 50 . volunteer were given one of three varying doses of DMAU , and in one of two different preparation , in a abridgment with either castor oil or powder . Five volunteers from each dose grouping were randomized to receive a restraint placebo as well . The trial endure for about a month , with each volunteer being told to take a daily pill with food . Eighty - three men stop the entire regimen .
By experiment ’s end , the volunteers who direct DMAU receive a drop in their storey of testosterone and two other hormones call for in producing sperm , which was starkest in those who read the highest dose . The study did n’t immediately quiz their sperm , since it takes around three months for lowered hormone levels to importantly scale down someone ’s sperm numeration . But the investigator say the hormone levels get word in the high - Cupid’s itch group have been show to forecast infertility in early subject field of male contraception treatments . Conversely , the levels among all DMAU military volunteer return 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 , ” aver senior author Stephanie Page , a prof of medicine at the University of Washington , at amedia conferenceheld Sunday . “ We were very excited with the results we saw . ”
The research was a joint collaboration between the University of Washington and UCLA .
According to the authors , DMAU has been designed to jump over the hurdles that have block other endeavor at a manly nascency ascendance pill . One of the top approaches to male contraception has been to use progestin in conjunction with testosterone . The progestin causes the testicles to stop naturally producing testosterone , leading to lower sperm production , while the artificial testosterone mitigates the other gist that too little testosterone can have on the consistency overall . But while this approach would give up for reversible infertility , taste to deliver testosterone orally can be a hassle .
Previous stab at a testosterone - based pill have required at least two doses a twenty-four hours , due to its poor absorption rate , and too much testosterone in the organisation at once can make side effects like liver terms or mood changes . Most recently , in 2016 , a large clinical test of a testosterone - base antifertility injection wasstopped betimes , after some valet de chambre reported serious emotional job and one volunteer died by suicide while take it ( the legal age of trial run guinea pig in that study , it should be noted , said they would still take the treatment if it were made available ) .
DMAU is meant to act on the same receptor as testosterone and progestogen . But it seems to be more easy soak up by the torso and longer - lasting . That theoretically means a exclusive dose a day ( when get hold of with food ) should cause sterility without leading to other serious consequences , the authors say .
“ The big message for us in the research athletic field is that there really were no adverse events or effects , ” Page said . “ The human tolerated the drug very well . There were n’t unwashed side effects you get from oral medicament like nausea and we did not see any liver signals [ of wrong ] . ”
The few side effects Page ’s squad observe were weight gain and bring down stage of HDL cholesterin ( the “ honest ” kind ) . But they feel a tweaked dose could alleviate these symptoms . Importantly , the pill did n’t seem to cause any other lasting symptom of low testosterone . Eight men in the discussion group did report depleted libido , but the consequence faded away after treatment had cease .
For now , though , the as - yet - unpublished resultant role are only a sign of hope . The researchers are currently in the eye of a tryout entail to last for at least three months — a timeline that will let them directly prove for lowered point of sperm . And should that trial go off without a hitch , they would then test DMAU in real - biography brace .
The researcher are also investigating another hopeful daily unwritten antifertility drug that alsopassedits first safety trial in man . That drug is based on a unlike chemical compound and would similarly need to be take with food .
[ ENDO 2018 ]
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