Yeah, had to go look at another article on this, but indeed it works by blocking the absorption of Vitamin A. That… doesn’t sound good.
Comment on Birth control: US scientists develop world’s 1st male contraceptive pill
deegeese@sopuli.xyz 1 week ago
An exciting development, but the drug affects the body’s use of Vitamin A so I think they need more studies looking for non-reproductive side effects.
Night blindness and immune dysfunction are associated with vitamin A deficiency.
z3rOR0ne@lemmy.ml 1 week ago
LaLuzDelSol@lemmy.world 1 week ago
I’m not an expert, but looking at the research paper this is just blocking one one particular vitamin a receptor, so most functions of vitamin A would not be affected. Once concern is that this particular receptor (RAR-alpha) is partially responsible for neutrophil production, although they didn’t notice any changes in animal tests, possibly because those receptors are tucked away inside your bone marrow. Still could be a concern with long term use though…
deegeese@sopuli.xyz 1 week ago
I suppose the longer term human studies will show if it decreases white blood cell count.
LaLuzDelSol@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Yeah there are still several stages of clinical trials before this gets to market. Here’s hoping though!