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A vaginal and hormone-free gel is being developed by Swedish researchers.
CONTRACEPTION – Imagine, for a moment: a female contraception simple to use, very effective and above all, without Side effects…A sweet dream? Not according to Swedish researchers at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology who are working on a vaginal, hormone-free contraceptive gel. The results of the preclinical tests have been published in the journal Science Translational Medicine et show an efficiency of 98%.
But how does this gel work? It actually strengthens a natural mucus that already exists in the female genitalia : cervical mucus, secreted by the glands of the cervix which acts as a barrier between the vagina and the cervix. The gel allows it to thicken and thus prevents sperm exceed. All thanks to a polymer usually used as a food supplement and extracted from the shells of crustaceans, chitosan.
“Chitosan is delivered into the vagina via this gel and interacts with the mucus present in the cervical canal. Once interacted, the mucus becomes a better barrier for sperm, preventing their passage into the uterus and fertilization,” describes the co-author of the study, Thomas Crouzier, at Release.
Above all, this gel would be applicable in a few seconds, up to a few hours before a sexual intercourse including vaginal penetration. In a press release accompanying the study, the researchers promise an effect that “pcould last for hours, but diminish over time as the mucus barrier is naturally replaced.”
Effective and hormone-free
But let’s not cry victory too quickly: this gel has yet to be tested on human beings. Clinical trials should see the light of day in the years to come. For now, the gel has been tested on… ewes. Did not see it as heresy: they were chosen because their menstrual cycle and their reproductive system are quite similar to those of humans
Only one in eight ewes tested at ovulation had two sperm in their uterus after a billion artificial insemination. “The gel caused an average decrease of 98% in the number of spermatozoa in the uterus”, says the study.
An efficiency close to the pill, reliable in theory at 99.7%. But the effectiveness of the latter drops to 91% in practice, due to oversights or interactions with other drugs, according to the Passport Health site. The pill and other hormonal contraceptives can also cause side effects, such as mood swings, decreased libido, breast pain, nausea or headaches.
Call to replace the pill?
According to the 2016 health barometer in France, the pill remains the preferred method of contraception for women since 33.2% used it that year, compared to 40.8% in 2010. A decrease in connection with the Diane-35 pill scandal in 2013, now suspended from the market due to an increased risk of blood clots.
At the same time, many women have turned to the intrauterine device, more commonly called (wrongly, because it does not make sterile) the IUD, whether hormonal or copper. French women were 25.6% to use it in 2016, against 18.7% in 2010.
But even the IUD in copper, without hormones, presents side effects, like the increase in the duration and the abundance of the periods, as well as more important pains.
What about this gel? Whether it works well on humans remains to be seen. Another vaginal gel already exists: Phexxi, marketed in the United States since 2020, which acts on the pH of the vagina, making it more acidic. But according to an article by missit is only 86% effective and a box of twelve doses costs… $267.50.
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