Birth control pill for men? One shows promise

A small, recently released study shows a newly developed oral contraceptive for men appears to be both effective and safe.

The research, presented at the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in Chicago by researchers from the University of Washington in Seattle, studied 83 men ages of 18 to 50. The participants’ testosterone levels dropped significantly along with two hormones essential for sperm production.

Like the pill for women, the experimental contraceptive — called dimethandrolone undecanoate, or DMAU — affects hormones and is taken once a day, said the study’s senior investigator, Stephanie Page, a professor of medicine at the university.

“DMAU is a major step forward in the development of a once-daily ‘male pill,’ ” Page said Sunday in a statement by the Endocrine Society.

Page cautioned that the study size was small and that more research was needed, including a study with couples, she told Medscape Medical News.

Progress toward a male birth control pill has been slow, Page said, because of concerns about liver and kidney damage and, until the new formulation, the need for two or more doses a day. However, DMAU contains undecanoate, a long-chain fatty acid, which Page said solves these issues.

Side effects include weight gain and decreases in HDL (“good”) cholesterol.

Page cautioned that the study size was small and more research was needed.