THE ESSENTIAL
- Condom use doubled among women aged 20 to 24 between 2010 and 2016.
- According to the authors, this gel uses an entirely new mechanism of action, a first for more than 60 years.
- In the future, the scientists plan to test their product on sheep and on humans.
According to health barometer 2016 contraception of Public Health France, the pill remains the most widely used method of contraception in France, with 36.5% of women taking it. It is the 15-19 year olds, with 60.4%, and the 20-24 year olds, with 59.5%, who use it the most. Nevertheless, for ten years, there has been a decline in the use of this method of contraception, with a drop of around 15%, according to the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products.
In effect, some women choose to go off the birth control pill because of its side effects, such as weight gain, mood disorders or even reduced libido, but also because it is a restrictive method, to be taken every day at fixed times. Thus, to avoid unwanted pregnancies, some prefer to turn to other solutions such as the condom or the IUD. For example, from the age of 35, the IUD is the first contraceptive used by women.
Contraception : un hormone-free gel to be applied via syringe before intercourse
Patients could soon have a new method of contraception: a hormone-free gel to apply via a syringe before intercourse, which should be effective from the first seconds and whose effects will last a few hours. In any case, this is the objective of the researchers who developed this product, whose pre-clinical trials, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, have obtained good results. During these, the scientists tested the product on eight sheep and it was 98% effective. Indeed, after an artificial insemination of almost a billion spermatozoa, only one animal had two spermatozoa in its uterus.
the gel acts on the cervical mucus to prevent the passage of spermatozoa
“There is a technical challenge behind the manipulation of cervical mucus“, points out Ulrike Schimpf, first author of this study. Cervical mucus – or cervical mucus – is a viscous and transparent liquid secreted by the cells of the cervix under the action of estrogens, according to the Larousse. This allows the ascent of the spermatozoa in the uterus and their capacitation, that is to say the transformation of the head of the spermatozoon making it suitable for fertilization. And it is precisely on the cervical mucus that the gel developed by the scientists acts.
On contact with the gel, the cervical mucus thickens to prevent the passage of sperm. In addition to its easy application, it has another advantage for women: it does not contain hormones and therefore does not have the side effects of a hormonal method of contraception. Thomas Crouzier, co-author of this study, specifies the action of the product: “Le chitosan [une substance naturelle] is delivered into the vagina via this gel and interacts with the mucus present in the cervical canal. Once interacted, the mucus [cervicale] becomes a better barrier against sperm, preventing their passage into the uterus and fertilization“.