Ultrasound treatment of testes – the future of male contraception
The ideal method of male contraception should be inexpensive, reliable and reversible. It should have a long-lasting effect and at the same time should not have side effects. It turned out that ultrasound treatment perfectly meets almost all these requirements, reducing the number of spermatozoa in the sperm of male mice to indicators corresponding to the diagnosis of infertility in humans.
For the first time, the possibility of using ultrasound as a male contraceptive was established about 40 years ago. However, the equipment used at that time has long been outdated and discontinued.
Researchers from the University of North Carolina, working under the leadership of James Tsuruta, managed to achieve impressive results with the help of a therapeutic ultrasound emitter available on the market. They demonstrated that circular movements around the testicles performed by a high-frequency ultrasound emitter (3 MHz) lead to the destruction of spermatozoa throughout the entire volume of the seminal glands. The best results were obtained during two procedures lasting 15 minutes each with an interval of 2 days between the procedures. To ensure the conductivity between the skin and the ultrasonic emitter, a saline solution preheated to 37 degrees was used. These manipulations led to a decrease in the number of viable germ cells to three million motile spermatozoa per tail of the appendage of the testicle (bottom right in the figure). A person with such indicators is provided with a diagnosis of "infertility".
According to the developers, the proposed technique allows to reduce the number of viable sperm in the ejaculate to values that are practically incompatible with conception. However, further studies are needed to determine the duration of the contraceptive effect and the safety of the approach with repeated use.
Article by James K Tsuruta et al. Therapeutic ultrasound as a potential male contraceptive: power, frequency and temperature required to deplete rat tests of meiotic cells and epididymides of sperm determined using a commercially available system is published in the journal Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology.
Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of Medical Xpress: Sonicating sperm – the future of male contraception.
31.01.2012