Vaccination for castration/sterilization

[Macumbakaloo (imported)]

Read here:

http://www.osun.org/Sterilization+Vacci ... e-ppt.html .

Painless? Reliable? Inexpensive?

[bobbie (imported)]

Think there is a big difference between sterilization and castration.

[JesusA (imported)]

This is potentially a very interesting development. The link that Macumbakaloo has posted is to the Powerpoint used in a presentation at an academic conference about the development of a GnRH agonist for veterinary use.

GnRH agonists (such as Lupron, Synarel, or Zoladex) are the chemical castration drugs of choice for advanced prostate cancer patients and for the delay of puberty for both transsexual adolescents and children with precocious puberty, as well as for other medical uses. They are considered far safer than antiandrogens such as Androcur or synthetic progestins such as Depo-Provera. They are, however, also far more expensive in the versions approved for human use.

The high cost of GnRH agonists has caused some medical insurance companies to begin recommending surgical castration of prostate cancer patients as a cost-saving measure. (Six months of Lupron costs as much as surgical castration, and many chemically castrated prostate cancer patients live eight to ten years, or longer!)

Any veterinary version, to be a success, must be far less expensive. It might also be far more easily available.

GnRH agonists do NOT provide permanent chemical castration and the Powerpoint is of a test in Brazil where injections were given to male cattle every 4 months to maintain castrate level testosterone (before they were slaughtered for the meat market). Like Androcur and Depo-Provera, they can cause permanent damage to the testicles with long-term use which is, of course, not a consideration for beef cattle.

GnRH agonists work equally well in all mammalian species and are effective in shutting down both testicles and ovaries. They suppress the sex hormones of both sexes.

[JesusA (imported)]

I sent a copy of the Powerpoint to a colleague who is an expert in such topics. His comment was "It is not a GnRH agonist, but an antibody against GnRH. It may work for humans. Or it may cause a massive allergic reaction."