More information & references for male contraception

Under development - this is a raw survey in need of categorisation!

Advice

Men who want better choices should be following this advice found in the following excellent article:
"Too Much To Swallow?"

"If the idea of a male contraceptive seems like a good one to you, there area few things you can do.

"First, educate yourself about the possible options.

"Second, e-mail or call a medical-research company to let them know there are consumers eager for male contraceptives.

"Third, contact WHO, CONRAD, and the Population Council and lobby them to do more of the great work they've already done."

Trust & risk

Different people accept different risks. Probably men who want to be REALLY sure may take a combination of a hormonal & a non-hormonal contraceptive. This may, for example, help guard against "a popping condom". There is a separate question about whether women would trust men sufficiently to stop using the female pill. (Some men may not want them to do so - they would prefer the extra confidence).

Some of these questions were explored in a survey of many women in various parts of the world:

"Would women trust their partners to use a male pill?"
National Library of Medicine - PubMed

The BBC has run on-line discussions, with a range of responses from sensible to silly, and covering all views from "yes" to "no":

"Will men take the pill?"

"Would you trust a man to take the pill?"

Abstract: "Potential impact of hormonal male contraception: cross-cultural implications for development of novel preparations"

Abstract: "Would women trust their partners to use a male pill?"

Would you trust a man to take the pill?
BBC Sunday, 23 July, 2000
Men could be popping their own version of the contraceptive pill within five years - but will it catch on, and more to the point will women trust their partners to take it?

What is a high-quality male contraceptive?

A necessary condition is "reversible".

Other sites provide their own criteria:

"Safety, effectiveness, convenience, reversibility, and avoidance of surgery":

"Safety, effectiveness, convenience, ease of reversibility":

In India & China this isn't such a big problem. They have serious population pressures, they have developed some technologies way beyond the rest of the world, they have trialed using more than half-a-million men, and they are going ahead relentlessly. It is more of an issue with "the West". This will change from country to country. India & China have their rules. The USA has its rules. Other countries, such as the UK (where I live) have their rules.

Here is a discussion about efficacy and effectiveness of contraception (from Bandolier - Evidence-based health care).

Will they really happen?

There don't appear to be any "single points of failure" in the worldwide development of such male contraceptives. Who would anyone negotiate with?

There are perhaps 10 or more countries in the world actively involved in the development of these technologies.

There are perhaps 10 or more different hormonal technologies being developed.

There are perhaps 10 or more different non-hormonal technologies being developed.

Obviously any individual country can try to inhibit the introduction of these technologies into their country. Perhaps the USA will adopt these technologies later than many other countries. How long will any country be able to resist? Some of these technologies may not get to market. Others will.

Approaches

There are many approaches.

One is specifically related to vasectomies - store your sperm first, so you still have options.

The following site is informative:

Male Contraceptives

It is still under development, and doesn't yet attempt to evaluate all the options. But have a look at the plug options. In particular, look at RISUG.

FRONTIERS IN NONHORMONAL MALE CONTRACEPTION: A CALL FOR RESEARCH

Experimental Male Contraceptives

Future Birth Control Methods for Men

Male Contraception - A Chance For Responsibility

Of course Edinburgh is very important:

"'100% success' for male pill trial"
The male pill could be available within five years
Edinburgh University scientists say the first clinical trials of a male contraceptive pill suggest it is 100% effective, with no harmful consequences.... The studies in Edinburgh and in the Chinese city of Shanghai are the first to be completed and the Scottish scientists leading the project say they are delighted with the results. About 30 men at each of the centres took the pill over a period of months. Edinburgh University's Centre for Reproductive Biology said the sperm count for each of the men dropped to zero. In addition, none experienced side effects such as acne and high blood pressure which have dogged previous attempts to perfect the male pill."
BBC Monday, 17 July, 2000, 09:10 GMT 10:10 UK

It applies to Manchester too:

"Three Manchester researchers, Dr Morton Hair, DR Kay Kitteridge and DR Fred Wu, will reveal their findings at the British Endocrine Societies annual meeting in Bournemouth on Monday. They carried out their trials on 23 local men. The volunteers took a progesterone hormone pill, while wearing a body patch containing the sex hormone testosterone. The volunteers were divided into three different groups, receiving low, medium and high levels of the progesterone pill. Most of the men in the high and medium groups showed no active sperm after three months. When they stopped taking the pill their sperm counts gradually returned to normal."
(BBC 12.04.99).

Weeklywire article:
"In China, more than half a million men have received either Shugs or injectable plugs; all the men who had their plugs removed fathered children within four years, and most within the year. Injectable plugs are between 96 percent and 100 percent effective."

There are several research projects around the world developing chemical male contraceptives of various kinds. (They may or may not be delivered in pill form). There are also perhaps a dozen non-chemical technologies variously being used; or being tested; or being developed.
http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/contraception/male.html
http://www.gumption.org/mcip/paper.html
http://www.weeklywire.com/ww/04-17-00/boston_feature_2.html
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/ARTICLES/bcfuture_m.html

Aarogya.com - "The Wellness Site"
Indigenous male contraceptive is here
NEW DELHI
"The phase-III clinical trials of the injectible male contraceptive, jointly developed by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) here and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), started in May this year at three centers in the capital, according to S K Guha, biomedical engineer at both the institutes, who has developed it. The contraceptive - a new drug RISUG - is being tested, under Indian Council of Medical Research's co-ordination, on 50 men each at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, Lok Nayak Jayprakash Narayan Hospital and Rural Medical Center, a private hospital. .. But all of them said the results of Phase-I and II trials, conducted in 1990-93 and 1993-97 respectively, were encouraging."

Once a high quality male contraceptive is available, there will not be any excuse for men not to use it. The ideal situation is:
- Perfect male contraceptive.
- 100% Child Support compliance.

Ann Rose's Ultimate Birth Control Links

FRONTIERS IN NONHORMONAL MALE CONTRACEPTION: A CALL FOR RESEARCH
Elaine A. Lissner, Director
Male Contraception Information Project (MCIP)

GENDER ROLES AND MALE CONTRACEPTION

Androgen implants feasible for male contraception, treatment of hypogonadism

"Human Reproduction" Journal

Columbia University - REVERSIBLE VASECTOMY

Cryogenic Laboratories, Inc - Cryobanking for Client Depositors

plannedparenthood.org
The Future of Birth Control

Future Birth Control Methods for Men

The Nation Company - Precious Bodily Fluids

University of Leicester - 'SPERM TAP' BREAKTHROUGH IN MALE FERTILITY

Newspaper articles

Too Much To Swallow? Available at:
The Boston Phoenix

Ripsawnews (The News & Entertainment Weekly of the Twin Ports)

Colorado Springs Independent

Biomedical engineer develops reversible male contraceptive
The Times of India
Monday 22 December 1997

The Indian Express
ICMR takes a shot at a male contraceptive
Sreelatha Menon

Men favour male pill
The Times February 23 2000 BRITAIN
Two thirds of men would use a male contraceptive Pill, and most of their partners would trust them to do so, according to a study.

Sex, science and superglue
The Independent 18.05.00
It's 40 years since the pill revolutionised sexual habits. But now its days may be numbered. In the next 40 years our contraceptives will take the form of skin patches, superglue and sperm-killing antibodies
By Roger Dobson

Male pill is '100% effective'
The Times
July 17 2000 BRITAIN
Scientists carrying out the first international trials of a male contraceptive pill have declared it 100 per cent effective, with no damaging side-effects.

Male Pill is 100% effective in UK trials
The Independent
By Paul Lashmar
17 July 2000
Scientists at Edinburgh University said yesterday they had made a breakthrough in the race to put the first male contraceptive pill on the market.

Male pill breakthrough
BBC Monday, April 12, 1999
Until now contraceptive hormone combinations had to be injected Scientists have developed an easy-to-use contraceptive pill and hormone patch for men.

The male pill could be available within five years
BBC Monday, 17 July, 2000
'100% success' for male pill trial
Edinburgh University scientists say the first clinical trials of a male contraceptive pill suggest it is 100% effective, with no harmful consequences.

Male pill moves closer
BBC Wednesday, 5 January, 2000
The production of a male contraceptive pill has moved a step closer after scientists developed a way to dramatically reduce sperm ejaculation in mice.

Male implant means birth control equality
Implants may be available for men as well as women
BBC Monday, 6 November, 2000
A birth control injection or implant for men could be on the market in the UK within five to ten years, says a leading fertility expert.