Sex may permeate our popular culture, but conversations about it are still associated with stigma and shame in Indian households. As a result, most individuals dealing with sexual health issues or trying to find information about sex often resort to unverified online sources or follow the unscientific advice of their friends.
To address the widespread misinformation about sex, News18.com is running this weekly sex column, titled ‘Let’s Talk Sex’, every Friday. We hope to initiate conversations about sex through this column and address sexual health issues with scientific insight and nuance.
The column is being written by Sexologist Prof (Dr) Saransh Jain. In today’s column, Dr Jain provides an overview of the new non-hormonal male birth control pill and how it works.
Contraceptives are extremely important in reducing unintended pregnancies and abortions, as well as improving maternal health and decreasing infant mortality. Birth control pills, in particular, are especially popular due to their convenience and non-invasiveness. However, they are currently only available for women, which begs the question: where are the pills for men? There have been many efforts to develop male contraceptive pills that can suppress sperm production, but these have often led to undesirable and prevailing problems.
But scientists may now be inching closer to developing the first non-hormonal birth control pill for men after getting promising results from animal trials, thereby raising hopes for less permanent contraception options for men and potentially levelling the playing field when it comes to pregnancy prevention.
Currently, there are only two contraceptive methods available for men:
• Condoms – a form of contraception that stops the sperm from reaching and fertilising an egg.
• Vasectomy – a minor surgical procedure that stops sperm ejaculation during sex.
Some men use withdrawal to try to prevent pregnancy, when they pull their penis out of their partner’s vagina before ejaculating. However, this is not a recommended method of contraception. Sperm can be released from the penis even before ejaculation.
What is This New Male Birth Control Pill?
The new male birth control pill, created by a team at the University of Minnesota, blocks proteins from binding to vitamin A, which is known to be crucial for fertility and virility in mammals. The drug administered orally was 99 per cent effective in preventing pregnancy in mice and has no apparent side effects, according to the research presented last month at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society.
The researchers also noticed the drug’s effects could be reversed and the mice could father pups again in 4-6 weeks after they stopped receiving the compound.
Depending on the result of human trials, the drug could soon be the first effective form of birth control for men apart from condoms or surgery. 
How Does the Male Birth Control Pill Work?
Prior attempts at creating a birth control drug for men have targeted the male sex hormone testosterone, but those efforts were stymied by side effects like depression and increased risk of cardiovascular disease. So instead of looking at testosterone, the researchers behind this new study tried something else.
To develop a non-hormonal drug, researchers targeted a protein called retinoic acid receptor (RAR) alpha. Vitamin A is also converted into different forms, including retinoic acid, which plays an important role in cell growth, sperm formation and embryo development. The body uses vitamin A in its different forms for all kinds of essential tasks, like building white blood cells and reconstructing bone.
It turns out humans have three types of retinoic acid receptors (RARs). Researchers had already found a compound that blocks all three, but they wanted to figure out if they could narrow their focus and limit the risk of side effects by targeting only the receptor that is actually responsible for fertility.
So, the scientists developed a compound that blocks the action of RAR-alpha. They identified the best molecular structure with the help of a computer model. Their chemical, known as YCT529, was designed to interact specifically with RAR-alpha, and not the two other related receptors, in order to minimise potential side effects.
Will There Be Any Side Effects?
The results on mice are no guarantee that the drug could be safe and effective in humans.
Because this contraceptive is non-hormonal, it’s likely to have fewer side effects. Earlier attempts at male birth control pills have largely worked by blocking testosterone, which can lead to depression, weight gain and decreased libido. Even when scientists super-dosed the mice with the new drug, the rodents seemed to do just fine.
Researchers, however, emphasise that the drug’s success in rodents doesn’t guarantee the same result in humans, which is why scientists will be keeping a close eye on human clinical trials set to begin later this year.
Medical professionals are hopeful that these recent breakthroughs in male birth control will allow people of all genders to take control of their reproductive health. If everything works out well, the drug could be in the market in the coming few years.
