My recent essay for Aeon Magazine discusses the development of newer male contraceptives which may offer a degree of reliability and reversibility similar to that of female contraceptives. Male hormonal contraceptives have been tested in small clinical trials since the 1970s, but none of them have been approved for general use. Research funding agencies and pharmaceutical companies need to make the necessary investments and forge partnerships so that the stalled research in male contraception can be revitalized.

It is a fascinating area of research and I hope you enjoy reading  the Aeon Magazine essay.

 

I also encourage you to also read some of the original references to learn more about the research. Here is a list of key references and a couple of informative websites:

References

CONRAD (2011). “Male Hormonal Contraceptive Trial Ending Early”

Gifford, B. (2011). “The Revolutionary New Birth Control Method for Men.” WIRED

Glasier, A. F., R. Anakwe, et al. (2000). “Would women trust their partners to use a male pill?” Human Reproduction 15(3): 646-649.

Heinemann, K., F. Saad, et al. (2005). “Attitudes toward male fertility control: results of a multinational survey on four continents” Human Reproduction 20(2): 549-556.

Lidegaard, O., E. Lokkegaard, et al. (2012). “Thrombotic stroke and myocardial infarction with hormonal contraception” New England Journal of Medicine 366(24): 2257-2266.

Matzuk, M. M., M. R. McKeown, et al. (2012). “Small-molecule inhibition of BRDT for male contraception” Cell 150(4): 673-684.

Mruk, D. D., C. H. Wong, et al. (2006). “A male contraceptive targeting germ cell adhesion” Nature Medicine 12(11): 1323-1328.

Nieschlag, E. (2010). “Clinical trials in male hormonal contraception” Contraception 82(5): 457-470.

Nieschlag, E. (2013). “Hormonal male contraception: end of a dream or start of a new era?” Endocrine 43(3): 535-538.

Trussell, J. (2011). “Contraceptive failure in the United States” Contraception 83(5): 397-404.

Youssef, H. (1993). “The history of the condom” Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 86(4): 226-228. (PDF)

 

Websites:

Parsemus Foundation:  http://www.parsemusfoundation.org/vasalgel-home/

Male Contraception Information Project: http://www.newmalecontraception.org/