Male hormonal contraception or the male pill is a revolution in birth control methods where the responsibility of contraception lies with the man. Read on to know the working of this male pill and its efficacy.The male hormonal contraception is alternatively known as the male pill or MHC. This is not yet marketed commercially but very soon they would be available at the medical stores. The MHC works either through injection or implantation. Researchers are working on several effective formulations that vary from shots, implants, pills and gels. The safety factor works at par with female birth control pill. In this articleHow does it actually work?The effectiveness of the MHCThe factors that determine the effectivenessHow long does MHC take?How does it actually work? Through the administration of the male hormonal contraceptive, the production of the sperm is completely blocked or drastically reduced. This can be accomplished through the prevention of the secretion of the reproductive hormone of the man in his brain itself. This then delivers the message to the testes. The testosterone level in his testes plummets and the production of the sperm lessens or stops altogether. There are some typical MHC formulations that can effectively replace the testosterone to the blood stream of the man in order to maintain the secondary masculine characteristics like the facial or body hair and the muscular mass. These are of course gradually administered so as normalise the entire procedure. The effectiveness of the MHC The final objective of the MHC method is Azoospermia. This is a state marked by the total absence of the sperm in the ejaculation. Men who attain this condition are called Oligospermic. They have less than one million sperm in every milliliter of their semen and such a condition is medically termed infertile in the functional aspect. Contrast this with a normal case where the male sperm contains anything between the ranges of 200 to 20 million sperm per milliliter. This therefore makes the efficacy of this contraceptive method as high as 99% and is regarded as a better option compared to the popular usage of the female contraceptive pill. The factors that determine the effectiveness The effectiveness of the MHC is dependent on the following factors: The formulation of the shot or pill.The manner in which it is delivered.The dosage. There can be various formulations that display their respective level of effectiveness. For example the researchers are presently working on formulation that can be effective on all Caucasian men and then there is already a separate formulation that will be effective on all Asian men, and so forth. How long does MHC take? The efficacy of the treatment generally takes around one and half to two and half months. When the spermagenesis is stopped, the last spermatid that has been produced requires around a maximum of two and half months to make its course ad travel out of the epididymis. There are certain methods in the MHC which can moderately prevent the maturation of the spermatid. And this takes just about a month and a half. Albeit, the mechanism that halts this process is yet to be explained. Research is on in order to provide satisfactory answers to several queries and clarify doubts. This is a male contraceptive option that people are eagerly looking forward to. Researchers at several academic and non governmental institutions are working on it for the past four decades. Recently the results of the tests were more than satisfactory and it only awaits market exposure. Currently in order to make it commercially available, a tie-up with a pharmaceutical company is essential. A trial by the WHO on MHC was successfully concluded in 2008.
Male hormonal contraception or the male pill is a revolution in birth control methods where the responsibility of contraception lies with the man. Read on to know the working of this male pill and its efficacy.The male hormonal contraception is alternatively known as the male pill or MHC. This is not yet marketed commercially but very soon they would be available at the medical stores. The MHC works either through injection or implantation. Researchers are working on several effective formulations that vary from shots, implants, pills and gels. The safety factor works at par with female
birth control pill.
How does it actually work?
Through the administration of the male hormonal contraceptive, the production of the sperm is completely blocked or drastically reduced. This can be accomplished through the prevention of the secretion of the reproductive hormone of the man in his brain itself. This then delivers the message to the testes. The testosterone level in his testes plummets and the production of the sperm lessens or stops altogether.
There are some typical MHC formulations that can effectively replace the testosterone to the blood stream of the man in order to maintain the secondary masculine characteristics like the facial or body hair and the muscular mass. These are of course gradually administered so as normalise the entire procedure.
The effectiveness of the MHC
The final objective of the MHC method is Azoospermia. This is a state marked by the total absence of the sperm in the ejaculation. Men who attain this condition are called Oligospermic. They have less than one million sperm in every milliliter of their semen and such a condition is medically termed infertile in the functional aspect. Contrast this with a normal case where the male sperm contains anything between the ranges of 200 to 20 million sperm per milliliter. This therefore makes the efficacy of this contraceptive method as high as 99% and is regarded as a better option compared to the popular usage of the female contraceptive pill.
The factors that determine the effectiveness
The effectiveness of the MHC is dependent on the following factors:
- The formulation of the shot or pill.
- The manner in which it is delivered.
- The dosage.
There can be various formulations that display their respective level of effectiveness. For example the researchers are presently working on formulation that can be effective on all Caucasian men and then there is already a separate formulation that will be effective on all Asian men, and so forth.
How long does MHC take?
The efficacy of the treatment generally takes around one and half to two and half months. When the spermagenesis is stopped, the last spermatid that has been produced requires around a maximum of two and half months to make its course ad travel out of the epididymis. There are certain methods in the MHC which can moderately prevent the maturation of the spermatid. And this takes just about a month and a half. Albeit, the mechanism that halts this process is yet to be explained. Research is on in order to provide satisfactory answers to several queries and clarify doubts.
This is a male contraceptive option that people are eagerly looking forward to. Researchers at several academic and non governmental institutions are working on it for the past four decades. Recently the results of the tests were more than satisfactory and it only awaits market exposure. Currently in order to make it commercially available, a tie-up with a pharmaceutical company is essential. A trial by the WHO on MHC was successfully concluded in 2008.
