Reuters
Drug may act as male contraceptive - study
Monday December 9, 6:54 pm ET
WASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - An experimental treatment for a rare genetic disorder may also work as a male contraceptive, without the side effects of hormones, researchers in Britain reported on Monday.
The drug, designed to treat Gaucher's disease, severely damages sperm so that it cannot fertilize an egg, the Oxford University and University of Sheffield researchers reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Aarnoud van der Spoel and colleagues gave the drug, called N-butyldeoxynojirimycin or NB-DNJ, to male mice. It did not affect sexual behavior, but the mice became infertile.
Once the mice were taken off the drug, the effect was reversed and the animals fathered seemingly normal babies.
Oxford Glycosciences (London:OGS.L - News) is developing the drug to treat Gaucher's disease, a rare genetic defect that causes, among other symptoms, enlargement of the liver and spleen. |
