rofgilead

Saw this over at digg.com..

A new male contraceptive that is actually reversible, fairly non-invasive, and non-hormonal is being tested in India. Basically, a gel is placed into the penis, which slows the ejaculation of sperm, but doesn't block ejaculation. This gel can later on be dissolved easily, reversing the contraceptive.

I think this is pretty exciting, probably over this century there will be lots of new developments for male contraceptives, which is definitely a good thing. The options for both men and women now are frustrating. I don't think it is a very good solution for women to take hormonal-based birth control, which can do all sorts of things to their bodies, and men lack any reproductive control short of a vasectomy.

Antikarma

Wow, I was gonna post some sarcastic comment about stuffing gel places, but after reading the article I gotta say I'm interested. Am I blind, or did I miss the part where it says it would be practical for widespread use? This sounds good.

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ScottKuma

Very interesting idea! As my wife and I are kinda done with the having kids thing, and as I"d kinda like to continue having sex...and we BOTH hate condoms....this seems like an interesting idea!

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Viking1064

How many women are going to trust a guy saying they are "on the gel"? LOL

doncalypso

Sounds good.... but I'd wait for a few more years of tests before committing to this method, and I'd still have my girlfriend use the pill or the Nuva Ring or some other additional method of birth control in addition to that gel.

Besides, there's probably a slight risk that some men might have a negative reaction to it because I know that I have a bad reaction to spermicide when my girlfriend uses it.

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ratbastid

Time for an anatomy lesson.

The gel is not placed in the penis. It's placed in the vas deferens, which is the tube connecting the testicle to the seminal vesicle. Sperm cells move through the vas deferens, where they meet up with the nutrients and fluids in the seminal vesicle, where the now-complete semen hangs out until it is ejaculated.

<img src="http://www.marinurology.com/articles/vasectomy/vas-images/vas-anatomy.jpg">

Blocking the vas deferens very cleverly eliminates the "active ingredient" if you will from semen, without otherwise disrupting its contents or production. Traditional vasectomy is a cutting or crimping of the vas deferens. So this is very much like a vasectomy, but more reversable.

I'm VERY excited about this. My good wife has borne (pardon me) the burden of our contraception for neigh on 15 years. I'm willing and ready to let her be hormone-and-implant free, and if something like this is as good as it seems... Sign me up!

Sage

I'm a little more hesitatnt to jump on the "yippee!" bandwagon with this... Personally, I think that birth control for guys is much more difficult than it is for girls, simply because all you have to do for a girl is prevent one egg (maybe two) a month from getting fertilized, where with guys you've got to stop millions of sperm... and that's every ejaculation!

Also, while many mature men would look at this and see it as a great oppurtunity to further ensure their partners not getting pregnant, I know PLENTY of guys would would be like "OMFG I'M NOT LETTING A NEEDLE ANYWHERE NEAR MY BALLS MAN!" Time will tell I suppose....

Perhaps they could tattoo a little mark on your balls if you'd had the procedure... like a cattle brand.... that way you'd know if your man was "on the gel"

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JustJess

I'm glad there's such a positive response to the idea... but it does make me a little curious as to whether this positivity will be all that wide spread.. I think it's going to take North American men a while to get used to the idea of someone messing with their junk. Women are subject to such invasive exams/tests/methods on such a regular basis that we no longer blink at the idea. I think men will have some serious mental adjusting/getting used to in order to take full advantage of this.

Think about just the diaphragm. Men use condoms, yes... but that's all external. Just for the simplest of BC, the diaphragm, we have to force a rubber cup full of spermicidal gel into our vaginal canals and leave it there while we have sex. You have to be fitted for it first, which involves your doctor shoving cups of various sizes into your cooter until one "fits". And this is an easy one, no hormones/shots/procedures! I just don't know what the reaction would truly be.

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ASU2003

http://www.vasclip.com/webpage.asp?ID=HOME

I would rather get this done personally. Their FAQ says they aren't sure if it is reversible, so that is the only thing that would be an issue. They need to find some guys in their 50s who are done having kids and pay them to get this device for 2 - 10 years, and then take it off and see if the sperm come back.

I think there is a plan to keep male birth control off the market. If most of the 14-16 year old boys would get this device, how many more STDs would there be? When they don't have to worry about pregnacy, the condom usage rate would plummet.

MikeSty

Umm, april fools?

Dilbert1234567

I don’t think it is April fools, sounds like a good idea, i hope it works, if it passes the scrutiny, sign me up.

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Tamerlain

I'm not sure why, but I've never trusted male contraceptives - other than a vasectomy (condom too, I suppose). I trust that the female pill works because it has been perfected over decades. A 'male pill' or anything short of a vasectomy wouldn't have a lot of history to go along with it, to show that it has a high success rate.

Also, I think that the female pill's simplicity is what makes me trust it. It seems that it's easy to trick that female body into thinking that it's already pregnant and therefore not to release an egg. You can't really trick the male body into not producing sperm.

Now before anyone starts, I am aware of the risks associated with the pill - I know it's not 100% either. I just trust it more because there's more history of it working than there is with new male contraceptives.

As for this specific form of male contraceptive, I return to my previous comments. For me, I would like to see success/failure rates before I jumped on board as a supporter.

-Tamerlain

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Anomaly_

Well, research for a non-hormonal, male contraceptive has to start somewhere. RISUG's clinical trials look very promising as far as both efficacy and safety are concerned:

The Phase III trial results from India should be interesting; the toxicology concerns weren't unwarranted, but in spite of their "very satisfactory" results, North American research groups don't seem to be exactly chomping at the bit. Male hormonal pill research seems like an incredible waste of resources because of what is already known about them in general, and because they don't offer any of the potential benefits of vas deferens occluding techniques.

cadre

Too bad it will probably be another five years and couple million dollars before we know how this will pan out.

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Redlemon

By the time this is developed enough for me to trust it, I'll probably be snipped. Hope you younger folk enjoy it!

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pavel_lishin

How many guys trust a woman saying that she's on the pill? Shit, I'd get this done in a heartbeat as soon as it was safe, but I'd wear a condom every time unless I was in a long term relationship, and even then I'd ask that the woman try the pill.

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pavel_lishin

Well, everything was new at some point. And I don't think there's anything really "simple" about the birth control pill. Yes, "all it does is trick the body into thinking you're pregnant." But this is even simpler - "all it does is prevent sperm from getting into your ejaculate."

I'm not saying I'd go ahead and stick a needle into my testicles without some more testing, but I don't immediately distrust it, either.

Also - thank god, south asia is the perfect place to test and distribute this type of thing. wru overpopulation.

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skier

This really looks like the first solid reversible male contraceptive option besides a condom. 15 year trials with no adverse results? Sign me up!

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JStrider

I saw this one digg also... and had run across it a few years back...

sign me up man... that much less to worry about...still haveta use the rubbers till in commited relationships but its all good.

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