It’s something women have been hoping for since the dawn of contraception.
American scientists have developed a contraceptive pill for men that stops sperm swimming within an hour of administering, during an experimental study on mice.
The study published in Nature Communications found that “acutely acting soluble adenylyl cyclase (sAC) inhibitors” temporarily rendered male mice infertile.
“Our inhibitor works within 30 minutes to an hour,” Dr Melanie Balbach states.
“Every other experimental hormonal or non-hormonal male contraceptive takes weeks to bring sperm count down or render them unable to fertilise eggs.”
After three hours the sperm started to regain their function and then were fully mobile after 24 hours.
The potential this pill holds could be a game-changer.
The prototype has not yet been tested in humans and still remains years away from possibly becoming available for human consumption.
“The team is already working on making sAC inhibitors better suited for use in humans,” Dr Lonny Levin of Weill Cornell Medicine said.
