July was a banner month for contraception, and surprisingly, male contraception received almost as much attention as female. This is a good thing. Since the beginning of time, the burden for avoiding pregnancy and using contraception has fallen on women’s shoulders; men have been more than slow in asking for methods they themselves could use.
The important news about female contraception concerns payment: the respected Institute of Medicine of the National Academies recommended that “all approved FDA methods of contraception be covered under new health plans without added consumer cost-sharing.” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius approved the IOM's recommendation of eliminating co-pays on Monday, which most believe will make contraception more financially accessible to women and encourage its use. There was opposition by religious groups, led by the Catholic Church, but 80 Democratic members of the House sent Sebelius a letter of support.
News about male contraception comes from an unlikely spot: Indonesia, which at 240 million has the fourth largest population in the world. Last week PBS NewsHour aired an in-depth segment on research and science communities’ recent efforts to reduce Indonesia’s future population by developing a male contraceptive pill.
The PBS segment, “Indonesian Plant Shows Promise for Male Birth Control,” reported on gandarusa, a natural, herbal form of male birth control that can be taken daily in a pill. It has shown great promise at preventing sperm from fertilizing an egg by lessening the power of sperm to penetrate the egg’s wall.
Presently the only two reliable birth control forms available to men in Indonesia (and worldwide) are condoms and vasectomies—and neither are particularly popular in Indonesia. Experts predict that unless action is taken soon, the country’s population will rise even further, to over 350 million, which will put great strains on its economy and standard of living.
Gandarusa could change all that. A plant that grows six feet tall, its medicinal properties for stress reduction have been known for centuries. Since 1987, researchers have found that it also has an unexpected, beneficial side effect for men when taken daily in pill form: temporary reduction of fertility.
There is also the all-important reversibility factor: A man might use the pill for a while to prevent impregnating his female partner. Should the couple decide it wants another child, he can stop taking it and within two months, his sperm will regain its potential for fertility, reports NewsHour.
The pill is now in clinical trials, and outcomes have been nothing but positive. It also has had a positive side benefit for some men: A few told researchers that it has increased their desire for sex. (As you can imagine, this has great marketing potential for men!)
Of importance, too, is that Indonesia is a Muslim nation, and religious’ leaders support for a male contraceptive pill is crucial. A guest on NewsHour believes that most “mainstream imams approve of family planning methods if they are not permanent and do not harm the body.” If imams in this largest of Muslim nations endorsed this pill, others in other nations might follow.
The NewsHour program ended on a high note: Gandarusa may be available in Indonesian stores as early as next year. (Experts are less optimistic about a U.S. release, given the FDA’s strict regulations requiring years of additional testing on products.)
But there is positive activity on the male contraception front in America: According to the New York Times piece “Scientific Advances on Contraceptives for Men,” there is a growing interest within the science and research communities “to develop alternative methods [to condoms and vasectomies] that are safe, effective, and reversible.”
Some scientists are focusing on testosterone and progestin hormones that signal the body to stop producing sperm. Some men are volunteering to test the efficacy of changing the balance of male hormones in order “to lower the sperm count” so they are “not viably able to produce a child.”
Tests have again proven that these new methods are effective at preventing the fertilization of the egg. Since questions about possible side effects on these hormones remain, scientists are examining other methods that might impede the body’s “production of sperm, interrupt its maturation, or temporarily render sperm nonfunctional.”
The influential pharmaceutical companies have not indicated “an interest in any of these [new] methods. They are holding male contraceptives to the same high standards already set for female products,” reports the Times.
Article Source: http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/healthquest/gandarusa-male-contracepive-from-indonesia-could-reach-new-jersey
