Another year,Watch Soul Online another bunch of articles claiming that a groundbreaking male contraceptive is right around the corner. Except this time, it kind of was.
A trial into an "extremely effective" male contraceptive was canned after some participants complained of nasty side effects like depression, mood disorders, acne and pain. Sound familiar?
SEE ALSO: Nurx wants you to get birth control from an appThe University of Edinburgh study, released Friday in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, found that a progestogen injection was an effective birth control method for nearly 96 percent of the study's continuing users.
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Researchers said they're now working to strike the right balance between the birth control's efficacy and safety for its users.
Clinical trials lasted from September 2008 to May 2012 and included 320 healthy men between the ages of 18 and 45. The men all had female partners between ages 18 and 38 and neither partner had known fertility problems.
In 2011, however, researchers stopped enrolling new participants in the study and discontinued the birth control injections for existing participants due to the rate of adverse effects.
Twenty men, or 6.2 percent of participants, dropped out of the study due to side effects, which included muscle pain, mood changes and erectile dysfunction. By some indications, 6 percent is a high number for side effects in contraceptive medication.
One man had severe depression, another intentionally overdosed on acetaminophen, and a third man had an abnormally fast and irregular heartbeat after he stopped receiving the injections -- side effects that researchers said were "probably or possibly" related to the study.
Despite the side effects, more than 75 percent of participants told an external panel of reviewers that they would still be willing to use this method of contraception.
"None of the preparations that have been developed and tested to date have managed to become a commercial reality for one reason or another."
Allan Pacey, professor of andrology at the University of Sheffield, echoed the sentiments of pretty much all women ever when he told the BBC that "there is certainly an unmet need for an effective reversible contraceptive for men, along the lines of the hormonal contraceptive for women."
He continued: "None of the preparations that have been developed and tested to date have managed to become a commercial reality for one reason or another."
Considering women have had the contraceptive pill since 1962, that's putting it politely. When do men get a turn?
Pacey said the study was "extremely effective and therefore certainly has promise," but conceded that the listed side effects were a concern.
However, he added: "It is noteworthy that 75 percent of the men who took part in the trial would be willing to use this method of contraception again."
"So perhaps the side-effects weren't all that bad after all."
Co-author and World Health Organisation researcher Dr. Mario Philip Reyes Festin expressed a similar level of optimism.
"The study found it is possible to have a hormonal contraception for men that reduces the risk of unplanned pregnancies in the partners of men who use it," Festin said in a statement. "Our findings confirmed the efficacy of this contraceptive method previously seen in small studies."
"Although the injections were effective in reducing the rate of pregnancy, the combination of hormones needs to be studied more to consider a good balance between efficacy and safety," he added.
Maybe next year, guys. Maybe next year.
Maria Gallucci contributed to this report.
