Boys and young men who took Risperdal, an atypical antipsychotic medication, may have also fallen victim to an unfortunate side effect, known as gynecomastia (man boobs).

These young men and their families may be entitled to compensation for the physical, mental, and emotional pain endured after developing Risperdal gynecomastia.

Risperdal Overview

Risperdal (generic risperdone) is an antipsychotic prescription drug that is manufactured by Janssen Pharmaceuticals, the drug subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. This medication is popularly prescribed by doctors to treat the following conditions:

• Schizophrenia
• Bipolar disorder (manic depression)
• Irritability in autistic children

Even though Risperdal has been in use since 1994, it was not approved to treat mental and behavioral conditions in children or adolescents by the FDA until 2006.

According to recent Risperdal lawsuits, this did not stop Janssen and J&J from marketing their antipsychotic drug to pediatric doctors. Some plaintiffs claim that the drug manufacturers went as far as to compensate doctors for prescribing Risperdal to boys and young men between the ages of 10 and 18 off-label.

While a doctor is allowed to prescribe medications off-label, or for non-FDA approved uses at their discretion, it is illegal for drug makers like Janssen to market their drug for off-label conditions or pay doctors kickbacks for doing so.

According to consumers, common side effects of Risperdal include:

• Fever, stiff muscles, confusion, sweating and uneven heartbeats
• Restless muscles
• Tremors
• Seizures
• Chills and body aches
• Nosebleeds
• Trouble swallowing
• Weight gain
• Headaches

However, a previously unknown—though now infamous—Risperdal side effect that has been named in the filing of more than 1,300 Risperdal lawsuits is gynecomastia, or male breast growth.

What is Gynecomastia?

Gynecomastia is a medical condition in which the male breast tissue becomes swollen and enlarges. It is sometimes referred to in layman’s terms as man boobs.

Some signs that a young man may have developed gynecomastia include:

• Painful breasts
• Nipple pain
• Nipple discharge
• Noticeable breast tissue growth

Gynecomastia can occasionally occur from a hormone imbalance that some young men go through during puberty and sometimes male breast growth can be a side effect of weight gain.

However, many individuals have alleged that the number of young men who take Risperdal who also end up developing gynecomastia is so high that there might be a link between use of this antipsychotic drug and development of the medical condition.

Male breast growth is not only a painful condition, it can also be quite embarrassing for young men to go through during their early and late teenage years.

On some occasions it has led to bullying by peers, and more often than not leads to body dysmorphia and decreased confidence for young men who are also already contending with issues like bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and autism.

As a result of the physical and emotional trauma suffered by these boys and young men, they and their families have decided to pursue Risperdal gynecomastia lawsuits against Janssen, seeking compensation.