Contraception made only for women may be a thing of the past as the potential for male birth control continues to evolve.

Male-based methods of birth control are in the lab stages of experimentation, crossing over a broad range of methods from pills to ultrasound technology, according to a Jan. 31 Time magazine article.

Male contraceptive research has been somewhat accidental, as drugs used for male birth control have originally been for other purposes, according a Time magazine article published July 27. A drug originally developed as an anti-cancer treatment also interrupts the maturation of sperm. Two other drugs — one a blood pressure medication and the other an antipsychotic medication — are also being researched as potential male contraceptives. Both prevent ejaculation during orgasm, according to the article.

Another contraceptive option is the use of ultrasound, which, when experimented on rats, showed that exposing the testes to ultrasound can shut down sperm production. This may lead to an effective contraceptive, according to the Jan. 31 article.

‘When we treated the rats in the study, it only took two weeks to shut down a process that is essential to the survival of any species,’ said James Tsuruta, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine who produced the study, in the article. ‘Males produce millions of sperm every day. So it’s a very, very robust system. To be able to turn that off — we are really excited to learn how this actually works.’

The generation of heat by physically vibrating tissues with sound waves is why ultrasounds are able to contact usually unreachable parts of the body. Researchers suggest the ultrasound may disrupt the proteins in cells and even their gene expression, leading to alterations in the way the cells work, according to the article.

It has been reported that 70 percent of couples use some form of contraception. However, the vast majority rely on female methods like birth control pills. Only 25 percent of men use condoms or have a vasectomy, meaning birth control is almost completely reliant on the woman, according to the article. The drugs will allow men to have more options when it comes to birth control than they do now.

‘I think it’s good,’ said Matt Linaburg, a junior chemistry major. ‘I mean it’s not permanent like a vasectomy. With this, it can be sterile for as long as you want and then if you change your mind you can go back to being fertile.’

Though medicines like Viagra have become commonplace, questions have been raised on how willing men would be to try birth control for themselves, according to the July 27 article.

Steve Owens, who has been involved in test trials of male contraceptives, said in the article that when he discusses medications with his friends, their reactions vary. Some are open to the possibility while others are worried about long-term effects and shrinkage, according to the article.

‘I think it has good intentions, but I don’t think guys will actually do it,’ said Rebecca Grossman, a junior retail management, marketing management and entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises major. ‘I personally think it’s going to make them feel less manly if they’re popping a pill like a girl would.’

knvanbru@syr.edu 

Published on February 20, 2012 at 12:00 pm