Condoms or more permanent vasectomies may soon be a thing of the past as new forms of male contraception prove successful.
Researchers presented three new birth control options for men at the recent Future of Male Contraception Conference in Seattle, including an injection, which can kill sperm, a short-term alternative to a vasectomy and even a "male pill.”
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Below are some of the new birth control options spotlighted for men:
— Researchers at the University of Washington studied a testerone gel used in a progestin shot and found that when men used the shot once every three months, it killed 90 percent of their sperm.
— A vasectomy may become a thing of the past if the Intra Vas device is approved. The device plugs the vas deferens, the tubes that sperm travel through to join with semen and can be later removed to allow sperm to continue to flow again if the men change their mind. However, future studies will prove if fertility also returns following the removal of the device.
— The male birth control pill secret may lie in vitamin A, according to researchers at Columbia University. Extremely low levels of vitamin A may cause men to lose their fertility but can also make men sick if they do not have enough vitamin A in their system. The drug has a precise dose that interferes with vitamin A receptors in the testes only and has been successfully tested on mice. Further studies will continue on men.
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