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posted by Fnord666 on Thursday December 21 2017, @06:42AM   Printer-friendly
from the if-you-build-it-they-will-come dept.

Submitted via IRC for AndyTheAbsurd

After more than a decade of work, government researchers in the U.S. are ready to test an unusual birth control method for men—a topical gel that could prevent the production of sperm.

And no, gentlemen, you don't rub it on your genitals.

The clinical trial, which begins in April and will run for about four years, will be the largest effort in the U.S. to test a hormonal form of birth control for men.

[...] The new gel contains two synthetic hormones, progestin and testosterone. Progestin blocks the testes from making enough testosterone to produce normal levels of sperm. The replacement testosterone is needed to counteract the hormone imbalances the progestin causes but won't make the body produce sperm.

[...] The gel can suppress sperm levels for about 72 hours, so if men forget a dose, "there is a bit of forgiveness," says Régine Sitruk-Ware, distinguished scientist at the Population Council, a nonprofit for reproductive health that is sponsoring the trial alongside the NIH.

[...] Even if the trial is successful, Blithe says it will likely be several years before the gel would be available to the public.

Source: A Contraceptive Gel for Men Is About to Go on Trial (archive)


Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by looorg on Thursday December 21 2017, @11:37AM (13 children)

    by looorg (578) on Thursday December 21 2017, @11:37AM (#612755)

    "Men in the trial will take home a pump bottle of the gel and rub about half a teaspoon of it on their upper arms and shoulders every day. The gel dries within a minute."

    Rubbing it on your genitals might have had an adverse side effect to the sexytimes. So I guess they would have had to make it applicable else where.

    Men will use the gel for at least four months while their partners also use some form of female contraception. Researchers will monitor the men’s sperm levels, which need to drop to less than one million per milliliter to effectively prevent pregnancy, according to Blithe. Once the sperm count is low enough, the women will go off their birth control. The couples will then use the contraceptive gel as their only form of daily birth control for a year.

    Ah so it's like gambling. Or how when women say they are on the pill but are not, sure babe I rubbed in the the gel everyday ... but didn't. All about Trust.

    “This is about gender equity,” she says. “Men would also like to be able to regulate their own fertility and not be forced into fatherhood.”

    Is it really about equality? I thought this was more about not having to pay for child support for something you didn't want. But then on the other hand from the test setting this seems more like something they want couples to use and not something you just rub on before you go out on the town to drag home whatever 3-am-bar-skank you can find.

    The biggest problem might not be resistance but forgetfulness. In a small 2011 survey conducted in the U.K., 42 percent of respondents worried that men would forget to take a contraceptive pill—and women were more likely than men to say so. Forgetting to take the drug at the same time every day is the top reason why oral contraceptives for women fail. The typical failure rate of those methods is 7 percent, compared with about 13 percent for condoms, according to a recent study.

    Is there some study that suggest that men are more forgetful then women? Is it that women are just trained to take the pill every day so they become better at it?

    That all said and done I do wonder if there are any long term side effects with this. Nobody is going to want to rub this one in if it turns out that you get hormonal issues afterwards. It will be dead in the water then.

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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Aiwendil on Thursday December 21 2017, @12:04PM (2 children)

    by Aiwendil (531) on Thursday December 21 2017, @12:04PM (#612758) Journal

    Is there some study that suggest that men are more forgetful then women? Is it that women are just trained to take the pill every day so they become better at it?

    Matter of training*, routine, and that the sideeffects of an emergency-contraceptive-pill makes the sideeffects of normal contraceptive pills seem downright enjoyable. Also it is the entire lingering thing that it is "the girls responsibility to deal with it" which means the pill is the easier way.
    Do people not discuss this with their female friends?

    * = Take a look at sex-ed, the girls' basically is "this is how your body will be fscked up and you forget the pill and allow him in without a condom" while the boy's is "this is how to use a condom, and a child is about as expensive as a porsche car [but we'll never tell you how much such a car costs]"

    However, if you want men to remember it - develop it combined with shaving cream, it is easier to hijack a routine than to establish a new one.

    • (Score: 2) by unauthorized on Thursday December 21 2017, @07:43PM (1 child)

      by unauthorized (3776) on Thursday December 21 2017, @07:43PM (#612922)

      Also it is the entire lingering thing that it is "the girls responsibility to deal with it" which means the pill is the easier way.

      Well it should be. If I engage in a dangerous enterprise with you - let's say a free range lion ranch - and we agree that you will be the one running the books while I would be the one working with the kitties, then why should you have any responsibility for my safety? Suppose somewhere down the line, I happen to injure myself because lions are just dangerous, or worse, because I didn't take proper safety measures by deceiving you. Are you liable for my injury?

      If one has the right to do something, they should also bear full responsibility for doing it. If you demand that we don't hold women accountable for their decisions, then you are demanding that we should treat them like children or the mentally incapable.

      • (Score: 2) by Aiwendil on Thursday December 21 2017, @10:45PM

        by Aiwendil (531) on Thursday December 21 2017, @10:45PM (#613000) Journal

        My views are so far outside the normal box I'd need to write a book to properly convey them - but let's just say that system would end unwanted pregnancies and solve the issue of looming overpopulation as well.

        To answer the rhetorics:
        I should have some share in the responsibilities in so far as helping to make sure proper safety gear and training is available and also make sure my first aid training is up to date - especially if I'm the one handling the books.

        But to answer the question instead of the rhetorics:
        It should only be the girls' responsibility as long as they lie about contraceptives - other than that use a friggin' condom and refuse sex otherwise. In the case of a non-lie snafu then it should be a shared responsibility.

        (And to preempt, obligation and responsibility are different things)

  • (Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Thursday December 21 2017, @12:28PM (1 child)

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Thursday December 21 2017, @12:28PM (#612762) Journal

    sure babe I rubbed in the the gel everyday ... but didn't. All about Trust.

    Trust but verify? Just get that sperm count checked before every intercourse.

    It would take a real scoundrel to pull that. The woman does bare the immediate burden of carrying a child, but the man has to face the cold reality of child support unless he pulls a disappearing act, which is difficult for most people. Given the imbalance there, he might need some crazier motive to overcome that, like a strong desire to impregnate (claim) as many women as possible no matter what the consequences.

    Is it really about equality? I thought this was more about not having to pay for child support for something you didn't want. But then on the other hand from the test setting this seems more like something they want couples to use and not something you just rub on before you go out on the town to drag home whatever 3-am-bar-skank you can find.

    Most of the birth control options for women are damaging to their health:

    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/06/health/birth-control-breast-cancer-hormones.html [nytimes.com]

    So now men can get in on that hotness by taking hormones.

    Before we continue, spoiler alert, there is something much better than this hormone gel for men:
    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-03-29/a-new-kind-of-male-birth-control-is-coming [bloomberg.com]

    The test setting is just the current setting. Once it gets out into the real world, skank seekers will get a taste of it.

    Is there some study that suggest that men are more forgetful then women? Is it that women are just trained to take the pill every day so they become better at it?

    Wouldn't read too much into that. The bottom line is that women sometimes forget to take the pill, and men will certainly sometimes forget to use the gel.

    That all said and done I do wonder if there are any long term side effects with this. Nobody is going to want to rub this one in if it turns out that you get hormonal issues afterwards. It will be dead in the water then.

    The gel's formula adds testosterone to counteract the effects of progestin which reduces testosterone. While that might sound like a good thing, it just proves that there is a balancing act that could easily fuck you up with hormonal issues (remember that the article concedes that you will be making less T after using the gel). And as you will see from the spoiler link above, there is a better way that does not involve hormones.

    --
    [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
    • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday December 21 2017, @11:02PM

      by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Thursday December 21 2017, @11:02PM (#613008) Journal

      Just get that sperm count checked before every intercourse.

      Like in: 'wank and count' as an interlude? Too kinky, not for me.

      The woman does bare the immediate burden...

      Kinky again. My experience says the woman will bare her genitals before having sex (at least). But, yeah, whatever floats your boat, I s'ppose.

      (grin)

      --
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
  • (Score: 2, Funny) by Runaway1956 on Thursday December 21 2017, @01:46PM (3 children)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Thursday December 21 2017, @01:46PM (#612776) Journal

    “Men would also like to be able to regulate their own fertility

    A better choice of words would be "Men would like to be able to regulate their own virility." Women may or may not be fertile - men generally are not. The gender benders still haven't figured that one out.

    • (Score: 2) by Freeman on Thursday December 21 2017, @05:08PM (2 children)

      by Freeman (732) on Thursday December 21 2017, @05:08PM (#612846) Journal

      https://soylentnews.org/article.pl?sid=17/11/06/0127241 [soylentnews.org] https://www.sciencealert.com/two-dad-babies-could-soon-be-a-reality [sciencealert.com] => 2 men could have a child *This hurts my brain* Ethical/Not Ethical? Weird? What if it's safer? Could we have Surrogate robots? Would that be better or worse than a "normal" Surrogacy? *Yep, brain still hurts*

      --
      Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
      • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday December 21 2017, @05:23PM

        by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Thursday December 21 2017, @05:23PM (#612855) Journal

        Yeah - even if they get things all worked out, they'll still be odd balls. Can't wait to see what kind of crazy wild complications they experience!

      • (Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday December 21 2017, @06:16PM

        by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Thursday December 21 2017, @06:16PM (#612874) Journal

        It would be interesting to see if artificial wombs are developed and proven to be *safer* than human wombs (when properly manufactured/etc.). Just look at this story:

        How Racism May Cause Black Mothers To Suffer The Death Of Their Infants [npr.org]

        Various, hard-to-quantify external factors like racism-induced stress could lead to premature birth. Miscarriage [wikipedia.org] has a huge list of potential risk factors. We could eliminate the uncertainty by using artificial wombs, and that could benefit women tremendously. But it also probably means that 2 Dads could have a genetic child (male or female) and bring it to term, without the involvement of a woman or possible legal ramifications of using a female surrogate (varies by country).

        Suddenly, the "sacred feminine" is no longer sacred. It's industrialized. Like a factory that makes canned beans or yogurt. No more mystery, just a process.

        --
        [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
  • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday December 21 2017, @02:54PM (2 children)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Thursday December 21 2017, @02:54PM (#612804) Journal

    Is there some study that suggest that men are more forgetful then women? Is it that women are just trained to take the pill every day so they become better at it?

    Apply the gel as part of some other routine that you simply WILL NOT forget. Like sex or jerking time every day. Or, if you already take any other regular daily medication, simply make it part of that. Or part of the morning shower, drugs, brush teeth, inject caffeine, etc ritual.

    --
    People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
    • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 22 2017, @02:39AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 22 2017, @02:39AM (#613084)

      I was thinking along similar lines.
      WRT the "trust by verify" thing, -she- applies the gel to him.
      I note that the effects on a gal's physiology of doing this (without gloves) would be a data point worth knowing.

      -- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]

      • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday December 22 2017, @02:46PM

        by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Friday December 22 2017, @02:46PM (#613205) Journal

        Excellent Observation. Those hormones might have undesirable effects on a female.

        --
        People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 22 2017, @03:59AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 22 2017, @03:59AM (#613097)

    I wonder how much of the drug is excreted unchanged from the body and into the water supply?

    The West already has a problem with antidepressants and birth control being found in drinking water.