Gynecomastia Thousands of patients grew through drug therapies Women Breasts

Action against pharmaceutical companies: Male breasts by drug treatment
In the US, thousands of men filed a lawsuit against a pharmaceutical giant. The victims want compensation because they should be able to cope with the intake of a drug of the company breasts. This possible side effect, the so-called gynecomastia, was mentioned only years after the market introduction in the leaflet.

Men with breasts
Many boys get estrogen during their puberty due to an imbalance between the female sex hormone and the male androgenic breasts. Often adipose teenagers are affected by the so-called puberty gynecomastia. But even in adulthood it comes to "men's bosom". According to a study by the Association of German Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (VDÄPC), breast reduction in men in Germany is now the most common aesthetic-surgical procedure.

Obesity is often the cause of men getting breasts. But some medications can lead to it. Thousands of men have filed lawsuits against a pharmaceutical company in the United States. (Image: MartesiaBezuidenhout / fotolia.com)

Gynecomastia as a potential side effect has only been mentioned since 2006
Breast formation can be caused by heredity, chronic diseases, drug use or medication. The latter cause is now the cause of a mass lawsuit against a pharmaceutical giant from the US.

According to a report by the news channel "CNN", around 13,000 men have filed suit against the pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson because they have grown from the drug Risperdal breasts.

The drug for anxiety and depression has been on the market since 1994, but only since 2006 is mentioned in the leaflet of the drug gynecomastia as a possible side effect.

Bigger breasts than girls
About one of the victims reported "CNN" in detail. The now-26-year-old Eddie Bible began taking Risperdal in late childhood to treat his anxiety and bipolar disorder.

When he was 13, the adolescent noticed that his breasts were growing. "I had bigger breasts than the girls in my school," Bible told the news channel. "I thought," Do I have to get a sports bra now? "

He said he explained his "male breasts" by gaining weight. At first he did not think that they could be a consequence of the medicine. The teenager suffered enormously under his body, retired more and more and hardly left the house.

Scars will stay
"If I had known about these side effects of the drug, I would never have taken it," Bible said. The plaintiffs assume that the information mentioned on the leaflets since 2006 has been deliberately withheld in order not to affect the sale.

"Looking back, I feel part of an experiment," said the 26-year-old. According to the information, he has now surgically removed the breasts, but the scars will continue to remind him.

Lawyer claims damages for victims
The pharmaceutical company does not accept the allegations. According to "CNN," Johnson & Johnson said, "Risperdal is a safe and effective medicine that has helped millions of people lead a better life for more than two decades."

The lawyer of the injured party demands damages from the drug manufacturer. He said: "This is a company that is supposed to help people, instead it has done many harms." (Ad)