{Disarmed} Antibodies as contraceptives: an experimental method in which sperm "is the virus" and which promises fewer side effects than hormonal ones

Antibodies as contraceptives: an experimental method in which sperm

While the controversial race to find the male "birth control pill" continues, about female birth control methods is not all written, especially when those based on hormonal control can cause a series of notable side effects . In this sense, there is the way of studying contraceptive methods for women based on antibodies , a term that today may sound like something to us.

With the pandemic and the different methods of diagnosis and treatment, perhaps we have become a little more familiar with the terminology related to our defenses (or we have remembered the biology classes of the institute). Antibodies are proteins that are made by certain cells in the body and that specifically mark what is considered foreign for elimination, and in this case the idea is that "the enemy" is sperm .

An idea that is not new, but that required technological advance to develop

Hormones are substances that generally act as activators and / or inhibitors, so that very varied functions and aspects can be regulated, such as the storage of calcium in the bones, blood sugar and many more, also covering the sexual and reproductive sphere. But normally a hormone does not have a single effect , but ends up affecting several cycles or functions and increasing / decreasing the concentration of one of them is usually associated with more effects beyond what we are looking for, as can happen with the supply of exogenous testosterone looking to increase muscle mass .

Hence, female contraceptives based on hormonal control may have associated side effects , unlike others such as the condom. In addition, they are either invasive and even require interventions to place them (such as the IUD) or they depend on the memory of the user, such as the (daily) pill to work.

The 97% myth: the condom industry's big lie is the one we have believed the most On Magnet The 97% myth: the condom industry's big lie is the one we have believed the most

Looking for an alternative that does not lower the effectiveness and that may have fewer side effects than hormonal control, research began on the creation of antibodies against sperm . In this sense, in two recent investigations they claim to have achieved encouraging results.

These are the works published in Science Translational Medicine and EBioMedicine , based on the action of an IgG on sperm (immunoglobulin G, a type of antibody). What they saw is that these antibodies recognized male sex cells by joining and agglutinating , a common defense strategy in certain cases that in this case serves to immobilize the sperm.

In this way, when they remain immobile at some point in the female reproductive tract, male cells end up dying due to the inhospitable environment (very acidic), so that they are unable to fertilize the ovum. In work on MTS, the effectiveness of antibodies when it came to finding human sperm was 99.9% according to what they show, yes, tested in sheep.

The other work has reached phase 1 of the tests, so it has already been tested in women. Nine women applied a vaginal film with antibodies for a week , observing that there were no changes in that acidic pH or infections and that the protection lasted about 24 hours.

{"videoId":"x7zyfsf","autoplay":false,"title":"Úteros artificiales: ¿el futuro para los bebés prematuros?"}

The next step would be to test it on sexually active women and see if the film remains active (and for longer). There is also the possibility of testing an antibody-based method applied to men in penile gel form, although they have not yet started working on it (at least this team).

The idea is that it is a topical method such as a patch or gel or that it can be inserted into something like a vaginal ring and that it can even be bought without a prescription, according to Deborah J. Anderson (from the study published in EBioMEdicine a Wired ). It is still early to ensure its effectiveness and safety and much remains to be tested, but it is an interesting way of study that with current technology could reach production and that would not be expensive, according to the researchers.

Image | Eucalyp

-
The news Antibodies as contraceptives: an experimental method in which sperm "is the virus" and that promises fewer side effects than hormonal ones was originally published in xiaomist.com by Anna Martí .

Web Bug from http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/xiaomist2/~4/ereZuP0k5ds

Comments

  1. Very well written article. It was an awesome article to read. about monoclonal antibody production service Complete rich content and fully informative. I totally Loved it.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is VoLTE and how can you activate it on your Xiaomi

So you can check the battery status of your Xiaomi smartphone and how many cycles you have performed

How to exit the FASTBOOT mode of your Xiaomi if you have entered accidentally

Does your Xiaomi charge slowly or intermittently? So you can fix it

Problems with Android Auto and your Xiaomi? So you can fix it

If your Xiaomi disconnects only from the WiFi it may be because of that MIUI setting

How to change the font in MIUI and thus further customize your Xiaomi: so you can change the type, color and size of the letters of MIUI

What is the Safe Mode of your Xiaomi, what is it for and how can you activate it

Improve and amplify the volume of your Xiaomi and / or headphones with these simple adjustments

How to activate the second space if your Xiaomi does not have this option