(Source: Screen shot from Time video embedded in article) <\/p>\n
Search for long-term, reversible, non-surgical birth control for men to avoid side-effects that women suffer from birth control pills, coming soon. <\/p>\n
HEALTH, MEDICINE & BIRTH CONTROL <\/p>\n
AFP News Agency <\/p>\n
A new medical technology that prevents pregnancy long-term and is used by the man, not the woman, will likely be available soon. <\/p>\n
A gel squirted into the sperm ducts of male monkeys has been effective at preventing pregnancy. <\/p>\n
Male humans may be squirting it into their sperm ducts soon, if their girlfriend or wife insists. <\/p>\n
THE SEARCH FOR MALE BIRTH CONTROL <\/p>\n
While several birth control options exist for women, the race is on for a non- surgical, long-term and reversible male contraceptive without the negative side effects of hormonal changes that women who use birth control pills often suffer from. <\/p>\n
The only short-term solutions available today are condoms, which many people complain interfere with sex, and withdrawal before ejaculation, which comes with a high risk of pregnancy. <\/p>\n
VASECTOMY CURRENTLY ONLY LONG-TERM OPTION <\/p>\n
Longer term, the sole option is a vasectomy, which involves tying or cutting the sperm conducting tubes called the vas deferens. <\/p>\n
This prevents sperm from mixing with seminal fluid ejaculated during sex. <\/p>\n
Vasectomies can be reversed in some cases, but the procedure is technically challenging and leads to low rates of fertility. <\/p>\n
The YouTube video below describes and explains the medical procedure of the vasectomy: <\/p>\n
MONKEYS ANATOMICALLY SIMILAR TO HUMANS: SO MAY WORK IN HUMANS TOO <\/p>\n
Researchers in the US are developing a possible alternative to the vasectomy, dubbed Vasalgel, which has proven effective in rabbits and now also in rhesus monkeys -- more closely related and anatomically similar to humans. <\/p>\n
Vasalgel is a polymer gel injected directly into the vas deferens, creating a blockage in the tube that transports sperm from the testes out through the penis. <\/p>\n
(Source: Parsemus Foundation) <\/p>\n
NO BABIES AFTER THE MONKEYS WERE INJECTED <\/p>\n
In an experiment at the California National Primate Research Center, 16 adult male monkeys were treated. <\/p>\n
They were housed with females, and monitored for up to two years -- covering at least one breeding season per animal. <\/p>\n
\"Treated males have had no conceptions since Vasalgel injections,\" the research team wrote in the journal Basic and Clinical Andrology (see here). <\/p>\n
PREGNANCY RATE TYPICALLY 80% <\/p>\n
Normally, the expected pregnancy rate among females housed with males would have been about 80 percent. <\/p>\n
MINIMAL COMPLICATIONS <\/p>\n
\"The presence of Vasalgel appears to be well tolerated and placement resulted in minimal complications,\" the researchers wrote. <\/p>\n
One monkey of the 16 had symptoms of sperm granuloma, a buildup in the vas deferens which is a common complication in about 60 percent of human vasectomies, they added. <\/p>\n
Not yet tested in monkeys, the reversibility of the method was tested in earlier experiments in rabbits, when the gel was successfully flushed out with solution of sodium bicarbonate. <\/p>\n
CLINICAL TRIAL IN HUMANS COMING SOON <\/p>\n
Preparations are underway for a clinical trial with Vasalgel in humans, said the Parsemus Foundation, a non-profit organisation funding the product's development. <\/p>\n
The research has benefits for the monkeys as well, researchers added. <\/p>\n
It is ideal to house captive rhesus monkeys in groups for their social welfare, but populations can quickly explode due to high fertility. <\/p>\n
And vasectomy in monkeys is more complex than in humans, with many complications. <\/p>\n
PROCEDURE WORKED IN EVERY SINGLE MONKEY, WITHOUT EXCEPTION <\/p>\n
\"We were impressed that this alternative worked in every single monkey, even though this was our first time trying it,\" said Angela Colagross-Schouten, the project's lead veterinarian. <\/p>\n
Basic reproductive health and family planning information: <\/p>\n
https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Parsemus_Foundation<\/a> <\/p>\n https:\/\/www.parsemusfoundation.org\/projects\/vasalgel\/<\/a> <\/p>\n https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Vasalgel<\/a> <\/p>\n http:\/\/time.com\/4661209\/male-birth-control-gel\/<\/a> <\/p>\n https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/society\/2017\/feb\/07\/successful-male-contraceptive-gel-trial-brings-new-form-of-birth-control-closer-vasalgel<\/a> <\/p>\n alternative : another choice - , <\/p>\n anatomically : regarding the structure of the body - <\/p>\n appear : to seem - , <\/p>\n at least : the smallest amount possible, could be more than this - <\/p>\n available : that you can get, use, find or buy - , <\/p>\n benefit : an advantage you get from a situation; a helpful or good effect, or something intended to help - , , <\/p>\n birth control (noun): the practice of controlling the number of children a person has, using various methods of contraception (preventing a mother from becoming pregnant, i.e., having a child developing in her body) - <\/p>\n blockage : a thing that blocks flow or movement, for example of a liquid in a narrow place - , , <\/p>\n breeding : the producing of young animals, plants, etc - <\/p>\n buildup : accumulation; when something increases over time and there is more and more of it at some place - , , <\/p>\n challenge : something that needs a lot of skill, energy, and determination to deal with or achieve - , <\/p>\n complain : to say that you are annoyed, unhappy or not satisfied about somebody\/something - , <\/p>\n complex : having a lot of details or small parts that make it difficult to understand or deal with - <\/p>\n complication : something which makes a situation more difficult, or when it does this - , <\/p>\n complications : additional medical problems which make it more difficult to treat an existing illness - <\/p>\n conception : the creation of a baby in the womb if the mother; the action of conceiving a child or of a child being conceived. - <\/p>\n condom (noun): a thin rubber covering that a man wears over his penis during sex to stop a woman from becoming pregnant or to protect against disease - <\/p>\n conduct : carry something from one place to another, such as electricity or heat - <\/p>\n contraceptive : preventing pregnancy - , <\/p>\n contraceptive : a drug, device or practice used to prevent a woman becoming pregnant - <\/p>\n dubbed : given a name - , <\/p>\n duct (noun): a long pipe or tube in a building that carries something such as water, heated air or wires - <\/p>\n due to : because of - <\/p>\n effective : producing the result that was intended - <\/p>\n exist : to be real; to be present in a place or situation - <\/p>\n expect (verb): to think or believe that something will happen or that somebody will do something - , , <\/p>\n experiment : a test of products, substances, new ideas, methods, etc. to find out what effect they have - <\/p>\n explode : increase to a very large amount quickly - <\/p>\n fertility (noun): the ability to have babies; how many babies women have in a country - , , <\/p>\n fertility rate : how many babies people are having; the speed at which people are having babies - <\/p>\n flush : (of a large amount of water) to suddenly flow through - <\/p>\n fund : money provided for something - <\/p>\n hormonal : related to homrones, a chemical substance produced in animals and plants that controls things such as growth and sexual development , - <\/p>\n ideal : the best possible - <\/p>\n impressed : to admire or respect someone because of something that he or she has done or said - <\/p>\n inject : to put a drug or another substance into your body through the skin - <\/p>\n injection : putting a liquid, especially a drug, into a person's body using a needle and a syringe - <\/p>\n insist : to say very firmly that something must happen or must be done - <\/p>\n interfere : to deliberately become involved in a situation and try to influence the way that it develops, although you have no right to do this - <\/p>\n long-term : that will last or have an effect over a long period of time - <\/p>\n male : being a man or a boy - <\/p>\n medical : connected with illness and injury and their treatment - , , <\/p>\n method : a particular way of doing something - , <\/p>\n minimal : very small in amount - , <\/p>\n mix : a combination or mixture of different things - <\/p>\n monitor : to regularly check something or watch someone in order to find out what is happening - <\/p>\n national (adjective): for the whole country - , <\/p>\n negative : bad - <\/p>\n non-profit (adj): without the aim of making a profit (earning money for a company, yourself) - <\/p>\n normally : as usual; properly - <\/p>\n option : choice - <\/p>\n penis (noun): the organ on the body of a man or male animal that is used for urinating and sex - <\/p>\n pill : a small flat round piece of medicine that you swallow without chewing it - <\/p>\n placement : the act of placing something somewhere - <\/p>\n polymer (noun): a natural or artificial substance consisting of large molecules (= groups of atoms) that are made from combinations of small simple molecules - <\/p>\n possible : that can be done; that can exist - <\/p>\n pregnancy : the state of being pregnant, having a baby developing inside - <\/p>\n presence : the fact of being in a particular place, thing or situation - , <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Read more: (Source: Screen shot from Time video embedded in article) Search for long-term, reversible, non-surgical birth control for men to avoid side-effects that women suffer from birth control pills, coming soon. HEALTH, MEDICINE & BIRTH CONTROL AFP News Agency A new medical technology that prevents pregnancy long-term and is used by the man, not the woman, will likely be available soon. Continue reading
\nBirth control for men: Works in monkeys, humans next - Bangkok Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"