Contraceptives for men are discontinued because of side effects

Injectable contraceptives for men are thought to cause depression, mood changes and increased sexual desire.

An injectable contraceptive for men will not appear soon in the market, although it is really effective. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism says this drug leads to many of the same side effects as female birth control pills.

According to US News, from 2008 to 2012, in the UN-funded study, 320 men aged 18-45 were given 1,000mg of testosterone and 200mg of norethisterone enanthate or progestin . These injections are carried out for 24 consecutive weeks to prevent the body from producing testosterone and limit sperm count. After that, they had normal sex with an average frequency of 2 times a week, using a combination of non-hormonal contraceptives.

There is more risk than the potential benefit of this contraceptive.(Photo: newschannel5.com).

By the end of 2011, 266 volunteers completed 24 weeks of injection, 4 were pregnant partners. Thus, the effectiveness of injectable contraceptives for men is about 96%. But the authors decided to stop construction early "for safety reasons".

"There are more risks than potential benefits," reported in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. In total, 1,491 side effects were recorded in the volunteers group including pain at the injection site, muscle pain, increased libido, pimples, mood changes and depression. Moreover, through 52 weeks of stopping injections, 8 volunteers did not regain fertility despite an average recovery time of 26 weeks. Continuing to monitor these people, scientists found sperm count to normal levels only after a very long time. A case so far has not fully recovered.

Identifying the above side effects is very similar to what women encounter with hormonal contraception, some scientists are annoyed when the work is stopped."20-30% of women taking oral contraceptives are depressed to the point that they need to intervene, but they end the study just because 3% of men get sick," Elisabeth Lloyd, Indiana University biology professor told CNN. In particular, nearly 39% of the other side effects were unrelated to injectable contraceptives.

Seth Cohen, a urologist at New York University's Langone Medical Center, expressed concern about hormonal methods of contraception, but hoped the team would continue to work hard to find safe drugs. male and female.