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Drug reduces the risk of child sexual abuse

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A drug that lowers levels of the male hormone testosterone in the body
reduces the risk of men with pedophilic disorder sexually abusing
children, a study from Karolinska Institutet published in the journal
JAMA Psychiatry shows.

About one in ten girls and one in twenty boys are sexually abused,
primarily at the hands of men with pedophilic disorder. Despite law
enforcement, technical and political initiatives, the rate of child
sexual abuse continues to rise, above all that committed online. There
is therefore a pressing need for effective and scientifically proven
treatments for people at risk of committing sexual offence.

Randomised clinical trial

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Gothenburg University in
Sweden have now evaluated the effect of a drug called degarelix, which
is approved for the treatment of prostate cancer. The drug acts by
switching off the production of testosterone, reducing within a matter
of hours the levels of the hormone in the body, and is administered by
injection every three months.

The double-blinded study included 52 men with pedophilic disorder in
Sweden, who were randomly assigned to a degarelix or a placebo group.
Treatment with degarelix was shown to dampen two critical risk factors
for committing abuse: high sexual desire and sexual attraction to
children. The effects were noticeable within two weeks.

Step towards an evidence-based treatment

“It’s important to be able to offer a relatively fast-acting
treatment, and the patients’ own experiences of the drug were overall
positive,” says study leader Christoffer Rahm, chief psychiatrist at
Psykiatri Södra Stockholm and researcher at the Department of Clinical
Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet.

Above all, the men described positive effects on their sexuality. Many
reported that they felt an inner calm, that thoughts of sex were no
longer dominant and that they lost their sexual interest in children.
A majority wanted to continue on the drug after the study was over.

“This study is an important step towards an evidence-based treatment
for pedophilic disorder,” says Dr Rahm. “We’re now planning a new
study to assay the longer term effects of the drug and to compare them
with psychotherapy.”

Recruited via a national helpline

All participation was voluntary and the men were recruited via
Preventell, a national helpline initiated by ANOVA, an andrology,
sexual medicine and trans medicine clinic at Karolinska University
Hospital in Sweden. The helpline was set up to prevent sexual abuse
and violence by fast-tracking people with dangerous or undesired
sexuality into specialised treatment.

While some of the participants in the degarelix group developed hot
flashes and reactions at the injection site, conclusions about any
mental side-effects were hard to draw since many of the participants
were already in a depressive state even before the study started. See
the scientific article for a full list of effects and adverse
reactions.

Source: Karolinska Institutet