Ultrasound can become a new kind of male contraception
Last reviewed: 28.11.2021
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The ultrasound wave directed at the male testicles is capable of stopping the production of spermatozoa, researchers have announced, developing a new method of contraception.
Experiments carried out on rats have shown that sound waves can be used to reduce the content of spermatozoa in the male seed to levels at which infertility is provided .
In an article published in Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology, scientists call ultrasound a "promising candidate" in the field of contraception.
However, before this method can be used on people, it will be necessary to experiment a lot, scientists say.
For the first time this idea was expressed in the 1970s, but only now researchers from the University of North Carolina, who received a grant for these developments from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, began its practical implementation.
They found that two 15-minute sessions are enough to "significantly reduce" the number of sperm-producing cells and sperm level.
The greatest effectiveness is achieved when there are two days between sessions and ultrasound is passed through warm salt water.
I still need to work
According to the researchers, men have a "subfertile" state when the sperm content in the seminal fluid drops below 15 million per milliliter.
In rats, this level fell below 10 million spermatozoa per milliliter.
The head of the research team, Dr. James Tsuruta, says: "Further research is needed to determine how long this effect persists and whether it is safe to resort to this method repeatedly."
Scientists want to make sure that the consequences of ultrasonic procedures are reversible, that is, that it is contraception, and not sterilization. In addition, it is necessary to establish whether the repeated doses create a cumulative effect.
"It's a nice idea, but there's still a lot of work to be done," said Dr. Alan Pejsi, senior lecturer at the andrology department at Sheffield University.
In his opinion, the function of sperm production should be restored after a time, however, when this happens, "sperm can be damaged, and in the future the child can appear with light deviations."
"The last thing we need is for the sperm to become lingering," he says.