It’s happening! After months of planning and fundraising, we’ve decided to take the plunge: the last animal study of Vasalgel before human trials. Thanks to 836 generous Vasalgel supporters, $28,136 has been raised for the baboon study so far. Even though we have not quite reached our goal of $60,000, we have enough to get the study started and will continue to raise funds over the next few months. The seven baboons will receive Vasalgel injections in January, 2014 and after confirmation that it works, several will have it flushed from their systems to test reversibility.
The rabbit study continues to provide promising results. In less than two months, four of five rabbits show complete return of sperm count with good sperm motility (movement). The fifth rabbit has a bit lower sperm count so far, which is not surprising; the vas deferens is very thin and fragile in the rabbit, and the researcher had difficulty clearing the vas on one side. We do not expect this difficulty in baboons, which have a much sturdier vas like humans. Meanwhile, the results of the 1-year rabbit effectiveness study are being prepared for publication – stay posted for more details!
Read the Vasalgel Dec. 13, 2013 Update