Does male sexual behavior require progesterone?

Does male sexual behavior require progesterone?

sono.org.br/publicacoes/2006 … %20Rev.pdf


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4.1. Human male

Among the different models and species that allow for the investigation of factors involved in sexual behavior, in humans, very little research has been conducted on the effects of progesterone on male sexuality, and diverging results have been reported.

An earlier study by Heller et al. (1958) reported a decrease in sexual libido in four men receiving intramuscular treatment of a progesterone compound. Years later, progesterone treatment was used to reduce excessive sexual desire in men (Money, 1970).

For this purpose, studies using progestational drugs have found application in some varieties of aberrant sexual behavior in males (Cooper, 1986 and references therein).

The antiandrogenicallyacting progestins medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) and cyproterone acetate (CPA) that prevent the action of androgens at target organ levels have been used for the treatment of deviant behavior of male sex offenders (see Cooper, 1986).

Given as weekly intramuscular injections of 200–600 mg, MPA has been reported to reduce a variety of paraphilias, including pedophilia, incest, and rape among others (Gagne, 1981; Zumpe et al., 2001).

It has been postulated that the clinical manifestation of these drugs are related to their ability to decrease plasma (and presumably tissue) levels of testosterone (Cooper, 1986).