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Reproductive Health
Chemical Postmaster Helps Deliver Contraceptive to
Testis
In one of the Population
Council’s reproductive health biomedical labs, biochemist and cell biologist
C. Yan Cheng and his colleagues have found a way to target a new drug, known
as Adjudin, to the testis in rats. This method prevents conception in males
without interfering with hormones, resulting in fewer side effects.
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Reproductive Health
CDB-2914 May Be an Effective Fibroid Treatment
Studies of the drug
CDB-2914 suggest that it may be an effective treatment for fibroids. It is
possible that CDB-2914 could be delivered into the body via a vaginal ring
or intrauterine system. The Population Council and its International
Committee for Contraception Research are also studying CDB-2914 for use as a
potential contraceptive.
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Biomedical Research
Carraguard May Block
HIV by Adhering to Cells
HIV may be ferried
deep into the body from the vagina by immune system cells known as
macrophages, suggests new research conducted by Population Council
virologist David M. Phillips and his colleagues. The research also showed
that the Council’s lead candidate microbicide gel, Carraguard®, is
effective at reducing this form of HIV transmission in lab animals. The
Population Council is preparing to enter into large-scale efficacy
clinical trials to test Carraguard’s efficacy in blocking HIV transmission
in 4,000 non-pregnant women. The microbicide candidate will be one of the
first products of its kind to enter this advanced phase of research.
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Biomedical
Research
Mirena-Induced
Drop in Menstrual Bleeding Studied
Researchers have known for years that the
contraceptive Mirena® drastically reduces the excessive menstrual
bleeding experienced by some women with uterine fibroids. They did not know for certain, however, what molecular
mechanism accounted for this improvement in symptoms.
Obstetrician and gynecologist Takeshi Maruo of Kobe University
collaborated with Elof Johansson and Irving Spitz of the Population
Council and others to determine the underlying molecular cause of
changes in the endometrium of women using Mirena.
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Biomedical
Research
Altering Cell Bonds in Testis May Yield
Contraceptive
The development of
effective, reversible, and safe contraceptives for men has lagged far
behind the availability of methods for women, largely because scientists
lack sufficient knowledge about male reproductive physiology. In one of
the Council’s biomedical labs, biochemist and cell biologist C. Yan Cheng
and his colleagues have made significant progress in understanding a
process that is essential to the formation and development of sperm.
Drawing on this knowledge, the team is developing compounds that may
eventually be used as new male contraceptive methods. If successful, the
methods would induce reversible infertility without interfering with
hormones secreted by the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and testis.
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