'Contentious' birth control pills for males 'safe and effective'

DMAU is being developed by the US National Institutes of Health, and Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

A recent study has shown that new birth control pills for males, called dimethandrolone undecanoate or DMAU, is 'safe and effective'. There were concerns over the male contraceptives earlier as it was being said that they may cause liver inflammation.

Stephanie Page, a professor at the University of Washington in the US, said DMAU is a major step forward in the development of a once-daily 'male pill.

Also, the earlier formulations clear the body too quickly for once-daily dosing, thus requiring two doses a day, a PTI report said. The problem of having to take the more than once has been solved, as DMAU has undecanoate, a long-chain fatty acid, which Page said slows this clearance.

DMAU is being developed by the US National Institutes of Health, and Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

At the highest dose of DMAU tested, 400 mg, subjects showed "marked suppression" of levels of their testosterone and two hormones required for sperm production.

The low levels, Page said, are consistent with effective male contraception shown in longer-term studies.

"Despite having low levels of circulating testosterone, very few subjects reported symptoms consistent with testosterone deficiency or excess," Page said.

The study included 100 healthy men, aged 18 to 50 years.

OneIndia News with PTI inputs