Is Contraceptive Pill a Hormonal Drug? The First Non Hormonal Male Use of Contraceptive Pills

The additional benefit of this contraceptive pill is that it does not reduce sexual desire - at least in experiments on mice.

At present, non hormonal male contraceptives have better efficacy than hormonal drugs in clinical trials, as the side effects of male infertility hormone drugs are greater than those of hormonal female contraceptives. Hormones can affect bone formation and cause liver mutations.

James Bradner, a doctor at the Dana Faber Cancer Institute in Boston, USA, said: "We urgently need to achieve the goal of non hormonal contraception Now, he and his colleagues have developed a drug called "JQ1". It can effectively inhibit a testicular specific protein called "BRDT", which is crucial for male fertility.

All sperm cells are derived from germ cell. In the early stages of this process, BRDT enters the nucleus and connects to the relevant chromosome group that indicates the development of the cell into sperm. The position where JQ1 adheres to BRDT is the same as the position where this protein adheres to chromosomes, which can prevent chromosomes from issuing instructions to cells. Bradner said, "It's kind of like tearing off a sticky note that reminds cells to develop into sperm cells.

Within 3-6 weeks, mice were injected with two different doses of JQ1 daily, resulting in a reduction of at least 90% in sperm count and at least 75% in sperm cell activity. The higher the injection dose of JQ1, the more mouse sperm decreases until all mouse sperm become infertile. But most importantly, if drug treatment is stopped within one to two months, the reproductive ability of the mice can be fully restored.

In the experiment, there were no obvious side effects and the testosterone levels in the mice were in a normal state. Mating behavior is not affected either. Bradner said: The performance of small animals is clearly not affected.

Currently, JQ1 derivative drugs are undergoing clinical trials on cancer patients. Bradner's research team has received funding from the National Institutes of Health in the United States to develop similar drugs targeting BRDT.

Currently, drugs suitable for human use are being released, such as those that need to be developed for oral use, rather than injection drugs used in clinical trials for rodents. In addition, it is important to ensure the reversibility of the drug during long-term use and to ensure that the descendants of users of the drug are not adversely affected for a longer period of time.