Friday 25 November 2022 09:41 PM Finally a reliable male contraceptive? Gel injected into abdomen blocks semen trends now
Scientists have come up with another male contraceptive, but it requires injecting a gel into your abdomen.
No male contraceptive has truly taken off due to side effects, but researchers think they have finally created one which is long-lasting and non-permanent.
A recent report showed a growing number of men are ditching condoms and relying on women using contraception.
Contraline, a biotech company based in Virginia, is developing ADAM — the world's first injectable male contraceptive gel which it describes as 'like the IUD, for men'.
Rather than hormones to halt sperm production, the contraceptive involves a gel which is injected into the tubes that carry sperm through a small incision in the abdomen.
The gel, which is not yet available to the public, will then block sperm from travelling to the testicles.
After around two years, the gel dissolves, and men can opt to have the procedure done again.
The contraceptive involves a gel injected into the man's sperm-carrying tubes, which then blocks sperm from travelling to the testicles
Recovery from the procedure is similar to that for a vasectomy.
Twenty-four hours of rest are needed, and men will have to avoid sex, sports and heavy lifting for a week, or they will be at risk of pain or bleeding inside in the scrotum.
It is currently being tested in a clinical trial at Epworth Freemasons hospital in East Melbourne, Australia.
Four men have received the contraceptive, and are being monitored for side effects.
If the trial is successful, a larger trial will be held in the US next year, with the procedure becoming available by 2025 or 2026.
Professor Nathan Lawrentschuk, a urologist from Epworth Freemasons and the study’s principal investigator, said the contraceptive could be a 'game-changer'.
He said: 'The three-year study will investigate whether the hydrogel is successful as a non-permanent, long lasting male
