Science-Based Medicine

May 15 2012

RISUG: Birth Control for Men

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14 responses so far

14 Responses to “RISUG: Birth Control for Men”

1. # gretemikeon 15 May 2012 at 4:45 am

   Does “minor surgical procedure” ever belong in the same sentence as “scrotum”?!

2. # fledarmus1on 15 May 2012 at 7:22 am

   I’m not exactly sure how “it is 100 percent effective” squares with “no pregnancies in the first months other than a handful of cases…”

3. # nobeardpeteon 15 May 2012 at 8:20 am

   @fledarmus1 – It’s 100% effective _except for_ those few cases.

4. # Epinephrineon 15 May 2012 at 9:12 am

   Does “minor surgical procedure” ever belong in the same sentence as “scrotum”?!

   Definitely. Having had a vasectomy, it is pretty darn minor surgery. I get that it was meant as humour, but there are enough men too squeamish or worried about these procedures (with their partner sometimes deciding to undergo a much more serious surgery as a result) that it’s worth combating that perspective.

   If it’s really effective, safe, and easily reversed, it would certainly be welcome (not for me, I’m done, but I am sure that there are some who are less certain than I was).

5. # cervanteson 15 May 2012 at 9:57 am

   “100% effective, except for those few cases.”

   Just like it says on the V8 bottle: “100% vegetable juice. With added ingredients.”

6. # annappaaon 15 May 2012 at 12:36 pm

   Weirdly, I’ve written about RISUG before (perhaps too enthusiastically?), and have also written a bit about the history of hormonal birth control (and am working on a longer synopsis of this history to be debuted this summer).

   There were similar “lone genius” and “battling the establishment” themes in the history of hormonal birth control as well. My favorite “lone genius” in the birth control story was Russell Marker, the chemist who figured out how to synthesize progesterone from a wild Mexican yam. He apparently didn’t have a lot of institutional support and financed most of his early research with his own savings.

   As for “battling the establishment” — Margaret Sanger dreamed of a “magic pill” since at least 1912, when she wrote about her vision, but despite the fact that the technology was coming together, there was no government or corporate interest in developing hormonal contraception. Sanger got a wealthy friend to bankroll pretty much the entire initial research, but once the inertia was overcome the pharmaceutical companies got on board.

   At least these narratives were the common ones presented in a multitude of sources I read. And, yes, the “lone genius” did have some help. I think humans just love the “lone genius” narrative. Maybe on some level we all think we are lone geniuses, which makes us root for them.

7. # Pseudo Random News and Comment | Mortality Suckson 15 May 2012 at 4:08 pm

   [...] RISUG: Birth Control for Men  Since you can bribe your way to approval in India I’m guessing this will be approved there regardless. [...]

8. # windrivenon 15 May 2012 at 4:16 pm

   The use of DMSO as (presumably) the solvent caught my eye. DMSO has a variety of interesting characteristics. It seems to have the ability to transport relatively large molecules through the skin – it has been sometimes used in transdermal preparations as well as allegedly by Soviet era spies to transport poisons through the skin. It also seems to potentiate the biological activity of some compounds.

   If you wet a cotton ball with DMSO and rub it on the back of your hand, within a few seconds you will taste it (a subtle oyster-like flavor) – it moves through the tissues that easily.

   I would be very, very skeptical regarding the safety of DMSO as a solvent in this application without very careful long term studies.

9. # nordon 15 May 2012 at 4:54 pm

   “100% effective”… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjvQFtlNQ-M

   I wonder if the coating site is close enough to the perineum to be affected by cycling.

10. # relativitydriveon 16 May 2012 at 6:04 am

    The funny thing is I’ve come up with a better solution and have been working on it for years. By working on it I mean in the homeopathic way – doing nothing more than wishful thinking.

    Take each male child at birth (and later on do all men) and put a couple of electronically controlled taps into the vas deferens set to OFF. When people want children they apply to get it turned to ON for a selected period before it automatically turns back to OFF. Easy as.

    So, I was excited when I saw this option. Then I realised this doesn’t look so good but let’s hope it can be used until Big Pharma fund me with millions of £££s…I can be contacted via this site.

11. # BillyJoeon 16 May 2012 at 7:59 am

    “RISUG can be reversed by injecting DMSO or bicarbonate and using a combination of vibration, a low electric current, and rectal massage to dislodge the polymer and move it through the vas deferens.”

    My feeling is that most males are going to find excuses to avoid this treatment.

12. # mousethatroaredon 16 May 2012 at 8:48 am

    @BillyJoe

    Heck, I’m a woman and I’d avoid this one (at least for a good long time). When I hear the description, not only do I cringe at the reversal process, but it draws to mind the initial problems with the IUD. I wonder about the device become dislodged and becoming embedded somewhere it shouldn’t, causing failure or infection, negative reactions to the materials, scar tissue, etc.

    I’m not a scientist or medical person, but I’d really want to see evidence of long term safety and effectiveness before jumping on this bandwagon.

13. # SkepticalHealthon 16 May 2012 at 8:50 am

    @BilllyJoe, avoid it?? I know a lot of guys who’d pay for an electrical current to the prostate!

    (kidding)

14. # DavidRLoganon 16 May 2012 at 7:10 pm

    Don’t forget about the continuous use of anabolic steroids!

    Not as fancy as this treatment…but effective, and you get hyooooooge (am I kidding?)

    Thanks for the post, Dr. Hall.