Jab in time may stop child abuse

Paedophiles could be treated with a single injection to prevent them abusing children, scientists hope.

Swedish researchers believe a drug that stops the brain from calling for testosterone production can combat hyper-sexuality and aggression, turning off the need to seek sexual contact with youngsters.

The hormone degaralix is being tested on five Swedish men who called a sexual-offenders' helpline because they were concerned about their paedophilic inclinations.

"The aim is to reduce child sexual abuses, intervening before the damage is done," researchers said.

Scientists at the Karolinksa Institute in Sweden want to expand the trial to 60 men and have laun ched a project to raise money for research.

Researcher Christoffer Rahm said: "Child sexual abuse is a pervasive social problem. Until now most of the attention has been on the police trying to deal with perpetrators but by this stage kids have been harmed. I want to explore methods that prevent child sexual abuse from happening."