Narrator: Did you know that the condom has more than 5.000 years?That's right, some of the first forms of birth control date back to about 3.000 years before Christ, and although the condom has evolved from the bronze age, men still do not have a much better millennia option later.Apart from vasectomy.
Especially, compared to pills, IUDs, and patches available today for women.So why don't we have better birth control for men?
In 2002, researchers asked more than 9.000 of four continents if they would be willing to use a contraceptive capable of preventing sperm production.More than half said yes.So the problem is not the lack of interest, it is partly human biology.Women expel only one or two ovules per month.Men, on the other hand, produce sperm daily, and are not just one or two.
Michael Skinner: hundreds of millions of sperm are literally produced every day, so, because there is so much sperm production, in reality if you reduce your sperm number by more than 90%, you would be completely fertile.
Narrator: To achieve infertility, the sperm count of a man must be 1 to 10 million per milliliter, but it is almost impossible you reach those figures, at least without side effects.This is because sperm count is related to testosterone production.In the past, the researchers tried to reduce testosterone in an attempt to reduce the sperm number.
Michael Skinner: The problem is that you have no libido, you have very little testosterone to act on other tissues and so on, so the side effects were so dramatic that it could never really be a new contraceptive pill.
Narrator: Scientists have also tried to use different compounds that attack cells that produce sperm.But again, biology has been filed on the road.Germ cells, as they are called, are developed within a structure in the form of strength within the testicles.
Michael Skinner: So, literally, nothing can go through it.There have been many studies of small molecules to try to attack the germ cell and prevent it from functioning.Practically, I can think of 10 or 15 different compounds that have actually been developed to do that, but do not work due to that barrier.
Narrator: But the complex male anatomy is not the only problem, it is also the financing or lack of it.In 2002, two large pharmaceutical companies were interested in male contraception, schering and organon.And together, they financed a great clinical trial on a hormone -based contraceptive, offering hope that a pill supported by Big Pharma could be on the horizon.
Christina Wang: Then, these two companies became, as already known in larger companies, and then in even larger companies, so they now merger between large companies, and women's health is still a priority inMany of the companies, while the health of men has become part of the general issue of health.And therefore, the development of contraception has a very low priority.
Narrator: according to the DRA.Wang, male contraception was also too risky for large pharmaceuticals at that time.Long -term side effects are unknown.Companies were concerned that women could not trust it, and despite the results of the surveys, it was not clear if men would really use a hormone -based contraceptive.Today, limited funds come mainly from government agencies such as national health institutes.In fact, there are some promising lines of research.Dra.Wang is working on a gel that can reduce testosterone where it matters, in places where sperm occur, while maintaining normal testosterone levels in other places.This means a smaller number of sperm and, more importantly, no remarkable side effect.
Christina Wang: We have preliminary studies that show that if we apply the gel and if man applies the gel, 90% of men will reach the level of discussed, 1 million per thousand.And Skinner is following a new approach, closing the Sertoil cells, which are part of that impenetrable barrier that houses germ cells.
Michael Skinner: So, if we turn off the Sertoil cell, we also end sperm production.
Narrator: But perhaps, the most promising is a kind of "reversible vasectomy" that is developing.
Michael Skinner: So, now they have the ability to inject that gel into what is called the deferential duct, and create that cap, so, essentially does the same, but you don't have to cut it.So, believe it or not, you can inject this chemical mixture, which will dissolve the cap and so you can recover its fertility.
Narrator: But, however promising these approaches can be, there are still years left, but decades, according to Skinner.And, without further funds, some of them may never reach the market.So, at least for now, men have few options: irreversible vasectomies, cuts, and inventions of the bronze age slightly updated.
