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Male Hormonal Contraception: Effects of Injections of Testosterone Undecanoate and Depot Medroxyprogesterone Acetate at Eight-Week Intervals in Chinese Men

National Research Institute for Family Planning (Y.-Q.G., D.Y., W.-H.T.), Beijing 100081, China; Jiangsu Family Planning Research Institute (J.-S.T., D.-Z.M., X.-H.W.), Jiangsu 210036, China; and Department of Medicine (W.J.B.), University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Yi-Qun Gu, M.D., Associate Professor, Department of Male Clinic Research, National Research Institute for Family Planning, Beijing 100081, China. E-mail: ygu90{at}hotmail.com.

Surveys indicate that one form of acceptable male hormonal contraception would consist of injections given at 2- to 3-month intervals. This report describes a study of depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) and testosterone undecanoate (TU) injected at 8-wk intervals for suppression of spermatogenesis in healthy Chinese men. After screening, 30 healthy volunteers were enrolled and randomly assigned to one of three dose groups (n = 10/group): 1000 mg TU (group A); 1000 mg TU plus 150 mg DMPA (group B); 1000 mg TU plus 300 mg DMPA (group C). All doses were given as im injections at 8-wk intervals. The study consisted of an 8-wk control (baseline) period, a 24-wk treatment period, and a 24-wk recovery period. Consistent azoospermia or severe oligozoospermia was achieved and maintained in all volunteers during the treatment period, except for two men in the TU-alone group who experienced a rebound in sperm concentrations. An 8-wk regimen of TU plus DMPA at both tested combination doses effectively suppressed spermatogenesis to azoospermia in Chinese men. All volunteers tolerated the injections; no serious adverse effects were reported. The lower-dose combination is recommended for further testing in an expanded clinical trial or contraceptive efficacy study.

This work was supported by the Contraceptive Research and Development Program (Arlington, VA) Project CIG-00-52 and Xianju Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China.

Abbreviations: DMPA, Depot medroxyprogesterone acetate; E₂, estradiol; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; LNG, levonorgestrel; MPA, medroxyprogesterone acetate; PSA, prostate-specific antigen; T, testosterone; TE, testosterone enanthate; TU, testosterone undecanoate; WHO, World Health Organization.

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