“Either we reduce the world’s population voluntarily or nature will do this for us, but brutally” – Maurice Strong
Human population is indeed the greatest problem in the world, as all other problems eventually arise because of it. Less than 3 centuries ago, the world population was just 1 billion people. As of 2019, this population has reached an astounding figure of 7.7 billion & is increasing. Now the whole problem of population is centered around the fact that Earth which has a finite resource can’t support an infinite human population. According to a rough estimate by scientists, the resources of the world can support at best up to 10 billion people, a figure which would be reached by the year 2055. So, unless we do something fast, doomsday is on the horizon.
Attempts at birth control are not new. Description of birth control measures is described even in ancient Egyptian texts like – Kahun Papyrus (1850 BC) and Ebers Papyrus (1550 BC). However, since then contraception attempts have evolved a lot, both in their efficiency & scientific logical background. Some of the common variety of birth control measures used in the modern world are –
As must be obvious from the above list, that when it comes to birth control, women can choose from a multitude of options. Unfortunately, for men, the options are highly limited, and even those available may not be acceptable to all. However, a new male birth control pill, that has passed an initial safety test in humans, may change that forever.
As described above there are already many different birth control methods, which are commonly being used at present. So why does the need for a new method arise? Well, the answer to that question lies in the world map. In spite of “Globalisation” in the 21st century, social & cultural values across the globe are not uniformly the same. This attitude is also translated into actions of daily life, including acceptance of different birth control methods, by people in all segments of society, worldwide.
Unfortunately, in many countries of the world men remain reluctant to use contraceptive measures, which later on may require unforeseen consumption of emergency pills by females or even abortions, which can cause serious side effects or health hazards. This does raise serious questions about the need for redefining the use of different contraceptive measures, which would be more acceptable to males. Hopefully, the new male birth control pill will be successful at fulfilling these requirements.
The concept of male birth control pill is not new, this has been tried in some form or the other in the 20th century. In the 1970s – a male contraceptive named, Gossypol was tried in China as a male birth control pill. The country hasthe highest population in the world and it was but natural, that an attempt would be taken to find a contraceptive, which would help in finding a new solution.
Gossypol is a natural phenol, which is obtained from the cotton plant. In 1970s extensive research took place in China, verifying its efficiency as a male contraceptive pill. The study which continued over a decade, involved over 10,000 subjects. The conclusion was that Gossypol is a reliable contraceptive, which could be used as a tablet. The fact that it did not upset the hormonal level, was believed to be a strong point.
Unfortunately, this drug never found widespread popularity, with good reason. It had serious side effects. This medicine caused a severe decrease in potassium levels in the human blood, with devastating effects. Besides causing weakness & fatigue in many people, adverse effects were also seen in the digestive system.
In the 1990s, a Brazilian company had plans to market the same compound, but the plan never materialized. Reportedly, it was high rates of permanent infertility, which forced the company to cancel its plans. In 1998, WHO’s research group on – Methods for the Regulation of Male infertility made a recommendation that all research on the product, should be abandoned, keeping in view the high toxicity of the compound. That was the end of an attempt to use Gossypol, as a temporary contraceptive.
In March 2019, at ENDO 2019, the Endocrine Society’s annual conference, details regarding a study of a new experimental oral contraceptive, for use in males, was declared to the world. This new oral contraceptive is called 11 – beta -methyl -19-nortestosterone dodecyl carbonate or 11 - beta – MNTDC. This drug has already passed the safety test & test for tolerability, after a study of healthy men who had used it daily for approximately a month.
The compound is modified testosterone, that has combined actions of a male androgen & progesterone, as was declared by Christina Wang, Associate Director, Clinical and Translational Science Institute at Los Angeles Biomed Research Institute (LA BioMed), Torrance, Calif.
The declaration was made after conducting a study on 40 healthy men. 10 of these men, were taken as a control group & they received a dummy drug. 30 others were the study group, who took 11-beta – MNTDC, either in 200 mg or 400 mg dose, once daily with food. Both of these groups were given their respective drug for 28 days. The final conclusion of the study was that the new pill which combines 2 hormonal activities in 1 will decrease sperm production without affecting the libido. The reason for this is that the hybrid molecule, contains part progestin and part modified testosterone, which ensures matching levels of hormones in the body.
The drug side effects observed with the medication were few and mild in intensity. Headache, fatigue, acne, lower sex drive and mild erectile dysfunction (without decreasing sexual activity) were observed in a few participants. However, no participant stopped taking, the medications because of the side effects, finally proving that the side effects were mild in nature & well tolerated by the group.
The average circulating testosterone level among men receiving 11 - beta – MNTDC had dropped low, but their adverse effects were minimal. This was because of the fact that 11- beta – MNTDC mimicked testosterone throughout the rest of the body, but is not concentrated enough in the testis, to support sperm production. The drug effects were reversible after stopping treatment.
Longer studies are planned for the future, as 28 days of treatment is too short an interval to observe optimal sperm suppression. The researchers involved in the project are working hard to develop a compound that has a few side effects while being very effective for contraception. They believe that safe hormonal male contraception measures would be available for use by the general public within the next 10 years.
In a rapidly changing world, the onus for taking birth control measures can no longer be just put on women. Men also have an equal duty to take responsible actions, that can decrease the population load on society& the world as a whole. Available measures for male contraception like – condoms & vasectomy is not acceptable to all. This necessitates a modern male contraceptive, which would be non-invasive in nature, with minimal or no side effects.
The new male birth control pill has the ability to fulfill all these needs. Hopefully, the day is not far off when this wonder drug can be made available to all members of society, to create a world population that is more commensurate to the available resources.