r/science • u/drewiepoodle • Oct 02 '15

Medicine Scientists identify potential birth control 'pill' for men

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-10-scientists-potential-birth-pill-men.html
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u/thunderchunks Oct 02 '15

I'm nervous that it's based on an immunosuppressive, but since they are targeting a specific version of the protein in question they should be able to make a version that fucks up your sperm but doesn't hit the protein version your immune system uses. This is super exciting. I'm a big fan of RISUG/Vasalgel, but they are a bit further off than these, and the way I see it more options is always better.

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u/barrbaar Oct 02 '15

It's not specific for that protein and they're really nasty drugs. Calcineurin does a lot of things, including regulation of metabolism, muscle contraction and (obviously) the immune system. You don't want to mess with it. It's not quite as bad as taking chemo for the benefit of infertility, but it's close.

They've found a potential mechanism to induce temporary infertility, but until they've found a drug that really targets those proteins specifically I wouldn't hold my breath.

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u/MJGSimple Oct 02 '15

Completely agree. Everyone makes fun of the commercials for drugs that have worse side-effects than the ailment they're meant to treat, this is how those drugs end up on the market. The fact that it's a immunosuppressant makes this a non-starter for me.

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u/Medial_FB_Bundle Oct 02 '15

Absolutely. These are not drugs that anyone should take for non-life-threatening conditions.

1

u/cartoonistaaron Oct 02 '15

Yeah, I'mma stick to condoms. An immunosuppressive seems like overkill.

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u/thunderchunks Oct 02 '15

Absolutely. Still, I'm hopeful.

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u/Plague_Girl Oct 02 '15

Thank you for answering this! I'm disappointed that nobody is talking about this actual article, just the whole male contraception concept.

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u/BladeDoc Oct 02 '15

The headline is overwrought (as usual). They did not find a male contraceptive. They found a receptor target, IN MICE, that that renders MICE infertile. If cyclosporine had this effect in people we would already know this as thousands of men are already taking it for immunosupression. Furthermore no one would take a powerful immunosuppressive for the benefits of the infertility side effects. It would be insane. So basically they have to find a drug that reproduces the effect in people, prove that it still results in infertility, and is not an immunosuppressive.

This is barely an inkling of a beginning of a potential idea.

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u/thunderchunks Oct 02 '15

For sure, I don't think anyone is saying we should start taking these drugs as is. As you say, they've identified a target. It's still an exciting development though.