Possible Male Birth Control Pill

Oct-04-15
A potential male birth control pill based on an existing medication used during organ transplants could offer a new, and long awaited, method of contraception.

The medication used to suppress the immune system and prevent organ rejection does so by inhibiting the calcineurin enzyme. During their studies, a Japanese research team discovered a particular type of calcineurin found only in sperm, called PPP3CC. In the absence of this enzyme, the sperms’ tails became more rigid, and less able to maneuver to the egg, hindering fertilization.

In studies on mice, the immunodeficiency drugs CsA and FK506 produced the same results after two weeks of taking the drug, and—most important—the sperms returned to normal function a week after the drug doses were stopped.