Health Conditions

What is on the horizon?

Currently, several pharmaceutical companies are developing other new combinations, dosing schedules, and formulations of estrogen and/or progestin pills. Generally, the proposed new products are intended to lower the chance of side effects. New progestins that may provide both contraception and additional benefits, such as helping to lower high cholesterol levels, are also being investigated. Potentially, some of these newer contraceptives may be appropriate for women with irregular periods and other women who cannot use COCs that are currently on the market. Other research focuses on completely new delivery methods, such as an estrogen/progestin nasal spray, that would give women more options for combination hormonal contraception.

Other investigation centers on hormonal contraceptives for men. In much the same way that hormonal contraception works for women, changing normal amounts of androgens (male hormones) disrupts a man's fertility. For example, increasing amounts of the male hormone, testosterone; introducing a progestin (a female hormone); or both drastically decreases the production of sperm and/or causes the sperm that are produced to be unable to fertilize an egg. Injections, implants, or pills are the dosage forms most studied for male contraception.

Non-hormonal contraceptives in development include:

Immunocontraception (contraceptive vaccines) By stimulating the body's immune system to produce antibodies against cells or chemicals that are essential to fertilization, various stages of conception may be prevented. Antibodies are natural proteins that are produced by the immune system to attack specific foreign substances in the body. Among the potential antibody targets that have been studied as immunocontraception are sperm, female and male hormones, and the zona pellucida (a membrane that surrounds human eggs). In studies of humans, antibody response has not been consistent, however, and producing enough antibodies to be effective may take a long time. How long the vaccine will remain effective is not clear, and once antibodies are produced, restoring fertility may be difficult or impossible.

N-butyldeoxygalactonojirimycin (NB-DNJ) A drug already being used to treat a genetic disease, NB-DNJ also blocks the production of sperm. In laboratory studies, male mice that were given NB-DNJ stopped producing sperm, eventually becoming sterile after their pre-existing sperm supplies were exhausted. Men taking NB-DNJ also stopped making new sperm. Their inability to fertilize an egg continued for as long as the drug was administered; but gradually returned to normal after the drug was stopped - over about three weeks for mice; about six weeks for humans.

Spermicide/Anti-infectant Combinations Chemicals that kill or disable sperm and also eliminate bacteria, viruses, and other agents that cause sexually-transmitted infections would not only provide contraception, they would also help to control the spread of diseases such as AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections.

Contraceptive Gel In very early stages of testing is a gel that hardens into a permanent, but possibly removable barrier after being inserted into the fallopian tubes. It forms a solid plug that prevents eggs from entering the uterus and sperm from reaching eggs. In animal studies, it has been effective and easy to insert. However, no human studies have been conducted, yet.