Male hormonal contraceptives applied daily to the skin reduce sperm production, finds a new study presented June 25 at The Endocrine Society’s 94th Annual Meeting in Houston. Very low sperm counts resulted for about 89 percent of men using a new combination of hormones, the authors reported. They combined a transdermal (skin) gel containing the male hormone testosterone and a gel containing a new synthetic progestin called Nestorone. “This is the first time that testosterone and Nestorone have been applied to the skin together to deliver adequate amounts of hormones that suppress sperm production,” said principal investigator Christine Wang, MD, professor, Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (LA BioMed). “Men can use transdermal gels at home -- unlike the usual injections and implants, which must be given in a health care provider’s office.”
