Update on male contraception.
OBJECTIVE
To review current options of contraception available for men and the recent developments in the field of male contraception.


RESULTS
Current options for male contraception are the barrier methods such as condoms and the surgical methods such as vasectomy. Condoms are coital-dependent and not always reliable as they are prone to slippage and breakage. Vasectomy has the advantage of being coital-independent but is permanent. Recent surveys have shown that men want to be more involved in contraception decisions, and women trust their male partners to take an active role in this area. Nonsurgical steroidal methods comprising various derivatives of the androgens and their receptors are in various phases of clinical trials in men. The ideal male contraceptive should be coitalin-dependent, nonsurgical, reversible, effective, and should not alter androgen levels or libido. Several nonsteroidal molecules and vaccines are being investigated in animal models for male contraception.


CONCLUSIONS
Male hormonal contraception may become a reality in the near future. Nonsteroidal methods including contraceptive vaccines targeting various molecules are an exciting proposition and are under investigation.
Naz
Rajesh K
RK
Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center North, Room 2084, West Virginia University, School of Medicine, Morgantown, WV 26506-9186, USA. Rnaz@hsc.wvu.edu
Rowan
Shon
S
D000726:Androgen Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000818:Animals; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D017280:Condoms / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003267:Contraception / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D023421:Models, Animal; D014659:Vasectomy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
D000726:Androgen Antagonists