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The first contraceptive for men may have been found
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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In terms of the variety of contraceptives, men are not as lucky as women: while ladies have a variety of hormonal drugs, the stronger sex has to make do with condoms and vasectomy.
Of course, male sex hormones have been described in detail; what they do in the male body is well known. Therefore, potential methods of hormonal contraception for men have long been developed. But their clinical use is hindered by two reasons.
Firstly, the effectiveness of such contraception for men depends greatly on each specific case: literally the same dose of the same drug may work for one and not for another. In addition, hormonal contraceptives for men are usually aimed against testosterone. As a result, in addition to the anti-testosterone drug, men have to take testosterone itself - to maintain muscle mass and libido. Finally, male hormonal contraceptives are fraught with side effects, and they are much more difficult to take into account than for women. (For women, the measure of drug safety is the ability to get pregnant and give birth to a healthy child, but for men there is no such "quality control").
Therefore, many researchers working in this field are trying to find alternative non-hormonal methods of drug contraception for men. Not long ago, researchers from the University of Edinburgh (UK) suggested using a male infertility gene they had discovered: mutations in it inhibited sperm maturation, and if we learn to control this gene, it would provide an effective contraceptive with a reversible effect. Scientists from the Baylor College of Medicine (USA) followed a similar path, publishing an article with the results of their experiments in the journal Cell.
This time, the object of the study was the BRDT protein. It is synthesized only in the testes and carries in its molecule the so-called bromodomain. This domain allows proteins that contain it to bind to modified amino acids in other proteins, histones. The latter, as we know, organize DNA packaging and determine which genes will be active and which will not. Consequently, those proteins that interact with histones have the ability to influence DNA activity and literally decide the fate of the cell.
The researchers relied on the experiments of their colleagues from Columbia University (USA), which showed that if this very bromodomain is cut off from BRDT, it will slow down the formation of mature spermatozoa in mice - precisely because of problems with DNA packaging in sperm precursor cells. The authors of the work decided not to interfere with the structure of the protein, not to mutate its gene, but instead synthesized a compound they called JQ1; this substance bound to the BRDT protein, preventing it from working. JQ1 was injected into male mice and their testicle volumes were measured over six weeks.
By the end of this period, the volume of the testicles had fallen by 60%, indicating a strong reduction in the number of spermatozoa that were formed in them. The number of spermatozoa actually fell, by 90%. In addition, the mobility of the remaining spermatozoa was severely impaired. As a result, the male mice became completely sterile. But no hormonal changes were observed in them - and, it turns out, the rodents' libido did not suffer.
Generally speaking, this drug can suppress the work of other similar proteins. However, according to the researchers, they did not observe any possible side effects in this regard. A huge advantage of JQ1 is that its effect is reversible: some time after stopping taking it, the males regained their fertility. The drug acts somewhere in the middle stages of the transformation of stem cells into mature sperm, that is, the stem cells themselves remain intact. The researchers are going to test the substance they invented for longer-term side effects, and if all goes well, then the male part of the population may finally receive an effective and safe birth control pill. Although, it seems that its direct effect in the form of a “reduction in the volume of the testicles” may scare off more than one potential user.
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