Chinese researchers say that a new hormonal male birth control has proved to be effective and reversible.
Dr. Yi-Qun Gu, MD, of the National Research Institute for Family Planning in Beijing, China said that the new male birth control can be useful for those couples, who cannot use female contraception. The study included 1,045 healthy men aged between 20-45 years, who had at least one child. The wives of the participants had healthy reproductive function and were aged between 18 and 38.
The participants were given 500 mg injections of testosterone undecanoate (TU) in tea seed oil for thirty months. The testosterone injections reduced the levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinising hormone (LH), which inhibits sperm production.
The results of the study showed that failure rate of this male birth control method is 1.1 per 100 men. The method proved to be reversible as male fertility returned to its normal after four to six months after men discontinued using the injections. There were no serious side effects of this male birth control reported.
Dr. Gu said that further studies are necessary to evaluate potential safety of this male hormonal method and its long term effects on male health.
The study was published in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.