Gel Shows Promise as Future Male Contraceptive

HealthDay – 8 mins ago MONDAY, July 2 (HealthDay News) -- Men may one day have a birth-control option other than the condom or vasectomy -- if early research on a new contraceptive gel pans out.

Preliminary findings suggest that when applied to the skin, the gel dramatically lowers sperm counts, thus also lowering -- though not eliminating -- the risk for pregnancy.

This is the first time that a combination of testosterone and a synthetic progestin called Nestorone has been tested as a gel that could be applied topically. Previous research involved administering the combination by injection or via a patch, said study senior author Dr. Christina Wang, a professor of medicine at Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute.

The combination contraceptive needs to undergo further testing before it is commercially available.

Although men have sometimes received a bad rap for not being willing to assume responsibility for birth control, Dr. Joseph Alukal, an assistant professor of urology at NYU Langone Medical Center, in New York City, thinks this reputation may be somewhat undeserved.

"I think

View the Original article