Male birth control shots were tested, but they also have side effects.
(Mirror Daily, United States) Partners in a couple share equal responsibility for pregnancies. However, more often than not, it is women that are most concerned about prevention. The methods suggested by doctors are also related to them rather than men. Now a new study found a contraception method which is addressing men, namely male birth control shots.
The study is based on the results obtained from more than three hundred men. They were all aged eighteen to forty-five. Several international centers participated in the study and accounted for the efficiency of the contraceptive shots.
All the participants had been previously tested. Their analyses showed that they were healthy and fertile. When the trials started, they received the injections once in eight weeks.
According to the researchers in charge of the study, one of the main substances of the male birth control shots is testosterone. They explain that when the body receives too much of the substance, it assumes that it is already producing enough. So what the injections do is stop the natural production of testosterone.
The combination of substances in the male birth control shots was carefully analyzed by researchers. They intended to reduce the level of testosterone in sexually active men and prevent pregnancy. However, the new medical product must also be safe and not affect the health of either of the partners in a couple.
The study was also concerned with the time that the men’s organism needed in order to recover from the shots and started to produce the normal level of testosterone again. The recovery period ranges from twelve to twenty-six weeks. The research accounts for the effectiveness of the shots in most of the cases. Ninety-six percent of the participants reported that the product worked well.
On the other hand, pregnancies were also reported during the study. It occurred with four of the couples, but only three of them decided to keep the babies. The children were all healthy, as the specialists in charge of the study also announced.
The health experts decided to stop the research earlier than expected. They stated that there were also side effects about the contraceptive shots. The participants reported signs of depression, as well as an accelerated heart rhythm. The symptoms appeared after the men stopped using this prevention method.
The decision of ending the study came after twenty of the participants announced they didn’t want to be part of the research anymore.
The study on male birth control shots was published in Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
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