No Gaining Weight, No Nausea, No Cramping, No Irritation, No Babies.

"Biotech Patch Offers No-Risk Birth Control." Mark Henderson, Oct. 17, 2007.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article2672902.ece

Many women find the side effects of oral birth control pills or any other hormonal based contraceptive to be not only interrupting to their daily lives but also painful and discomfortable. However, the majority of side effects are due to the drug manipulating the hormone levels in the body. Now, there is research in developing a birth control method using the revolutionary new concept of iRNA (interference RNA) regulation.

iRNA are double-stranded RNA able to switch off certain genes when they enter a cell’s genome. This biotechnology concept earned the Nobel Prize for Medicine last year, and is going to be utilized in all forms of medicine over the coming years. Although the best method of delivery of these iRNA strands to the target cells is up for debate, there is no question that iRNA has the potential to revolutionize the pharmaceutical industry.

In birth control research is being conducted to determine how iRNA can be used in contraception. The targeted gene in research is the ZP3 gene which is shown to be active only in mature female sex cells. It is responsible for the formation of the egg’s outer layer, the zona pellucida. This layer is necessary for the sperm to bind to before fertilization. Without this layer, the sperm will swim around aimlessly not able to bid to the egg and eventually will die in the uterus or fallopian tube. When iRNA is not being delivered to the sex cells, ZP3 gene expression should continue as normal in developing cells making this method nonpermanent.

Although this method is millions of dollars and years away, it is a significant leap in the field of contraception. Removing the side effects of contemporary birth control in a new method would be appealing to the masses of women that struggle with the physiological implications of taking today’s hormonal methods. Considering that there has been virtually no progression in birth control since the development of the IUD, iRNA regulation is very promising. Perhaps soon, for the first time in over fifty years, women will have another option besides hormones, the IUD, and barrier methods.

Photo: http://www.bio.miami.edu/~cmallery/150/gene/c7x19.9.RNAi.jpg