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A contraceptive gel recently through it's first trials shows promise of becoming a safe and effective birth control. It shows no ill side-effects.
It is early in testing but a new method of preventing pregnancy that does not appear to have the side effects of the pill, may be safe for breastfeeding women and is rubbed upon the body - it's a gel - suggest it could be the real deal.
Researchers at The Population Council, an international non-profit health group based in New York with offices around the world, have been testing the gel and presented results to the annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in Denver October 23-27. So far, they say, the results are encouraging.
"What we were very pleased about was that not only did it prevent ovulation, but that the women seemed to be so positive and seemed to like it so much," said Dr. Ruth Merkatz, director of clinical development at The Population Council. "The women seemed to like obtaining contraception this way."
Researchers at The Population Council, an international non-profit health group based in New York with offices around the world, have been testing the gel and presented results to the annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in Denver October 23-27. So far, they say, the results are encouraging.
"What we were very pleased about was that not only did it prevent ovulation, but that the women seemed to be so positive and seemed to like it so much," said Dr. Ruth Merkatz, director of clinical development at The Population Council. "The women seemed to like obtaining contraception this way."
Contraceptive Gel Rubbed on Skin Each Day
The chief ingredient in the gel (a skin spray is also being worked upon) is an synthetic hormone, a new progestin, called Nesterone, Dr. Merkatz reports. A small amount of the gel is rubbed upon the skin each day and just as with the pill, patch or the vaginal ring it releases hormones and prevents ovulation. The gel is easily rubbed upon the abdomen or the arms and is quickly absorbed.
In a recent study of a small test group by The Population Council, 18 women, all in their 20's or their 30's, used the gel daily for seven months while sexually active. None of the women became pregnant and nor were the kind of side-effects - weight loss, cramps, acne - associated with the pill reported.
Contraceptive for Men in News in 2009
This gel seems the biggest news in contraception since researchers in China reported in 2009 some early success in studies of a contraceptive for men. This method was an injection by needle of testosterone that temporarily blocked sperm production.
Early testing in China up to that point indicated the daily jab was safe and effective but it is early on in that process of testing and it may be, researchers said, another four or five years until the product, if successful, were to be available. A similar time-line is expected for the gel.
The gel, being developed by the pharmaceutical company Antares Pharma in conjunction with The Population Council, still has many trials and comparison studies and other studies before, if results show it to be safe and effective, it could be on the market.
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