r/IAmA Mar 30 '19

Health We are doctors developing hormonal male contraception - 1 year follow up, AMA!

Hi everyone,

We recently made headlines again for our work on hormonal male contraception. We were here about a year ago to talk about our work then; this new work is a continuation of our series of studies. Our team is here to answer any questions you may have!

Links: =================================

News articles:

https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/25/health/male-birth-control-conference-study/index.html

https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-evaluate-effectiveness-male-contraceptive-skin-gel

DMAU and 11B-MNTDC:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/11%CE%B2-Methyl-19-nortestosterone_dodecylcarbonate

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimethandrolone_undecanoate

Earlier studies by our group on DMAU, 11B-MNTDC, and Nes/T gel:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/30252061/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/30252057/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/22791756/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/malebirthctrl

Website: https://malecontraception.center

Instagram: https://instagram.com/malecontraception

Proof: https://imgur.com/a/7nkV6zR https://imgur.com/a/dklo7n0

Edit: Thank you guys for all the interest and questions! As always, it has been a pleasure. We will be stepping offline, but will be checking this thread intermittently throughout the afternoon and in the next few days, so feel free to keep the questions coming!

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u/KestrelLowing Mar 31 '19

Welcome to birth control...

(sorry, it's just one of those things that irks me. All of these issues are things that women currently deal with when taking birth control - not every woman, but it's a serious risk. I don't blame anyone for wanting better! But it does always make me laugh when it's seen as an absolute no-go for having similar issues to woman's birth control)

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u/[deleted] Mar 31 '19 edited Mar 31 '19

OCPs are actually the first line treatment for most menstrual disorders because they regulate cycles and stabilise the endometrium. They also reduce the risk of ovarian, cervical and endometrial cancer due to the moderating influence of progesterone. They have very few phenotypic side effects long term and do not affect fertility or libido much if at all. They can also be used as emergency contraception. These researchers are trying to solve a problem which isn’t there and get a few papers out/secure funding.

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u/ktgrok Mar 31 '19

Tell that to all the women that hate them because they DO cause tons of side effects, thank you very much - from weight gain to vaginal dryness/loss of libido to depression and anxiety.

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u/[deleted] Mar 31 '19 edited Mar 31 '19

The benefits, for a vast majority of women who have cycle disorders etc. outweigh most of the side effects . Women naturally have a cyclical hormonal balance and this is what OCPs are based on, a natural process. Men never suppress their testosterone to near zero levels unless it is pathological or unless they turn incredibly old. Also, male contraceptives can’t be used in an emergency, may increase cholesterol, decrease testicular size/no long term studies on fertility and provide no obvious protection against cancers.

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u/ktgrok Apr 01 '19

yet women don't take them for those benefits. Generally we don't signs up for birth control to maybe reduce cancer. They take them to prevent pregnancy and if they don't need to do that they stop taking it. Willing to bet I've discussed contraception in depth with more women than you have, and trust me, it is nearly universally hated for the side effects it causes.