Risperdal, a prescribed antipsychotic medication used in the treatment of medical conditions such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and irritability caused by autism, has been reported to cause male breast growth in men taking the medication.

This antipsychotic medication can also be prescribed to treat medical conditions such as depression when combined with other medications.

Risperdal reportedly works by affecting certain neurotransmitters, or chemical messengers that transmit signals in the brain. Specifically, they work by transmitting these electrical signals from one neuron to another across synapses.

By altering the ways in which these neurotransmitters work, Risperdal can help moderate the chemical processes that lead to cognitive, emotional and behavioral symptoms associated with conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

However, an association between Risperdal and male breast growth, or gynecomastia, has been reported to occur. The Mayo Clinic describes gynecomastia as “swelling of the breast tissue in boys or men, caused by an imbalance of the hormones estrogen and testosterone.” Gynecomastia is reported to also affect either one of both breasts in males, and may also even affect them unevenly, meaning one may grow larger than the other.

Generally, male breast growth can be caused through several different mechanisms. These causes can include increasing levels of estrogen or other compounds that imitate estrogen, decreasing levels of testosterone or other male hormones, blocking androgen receptors, or increases in the hormone prolactin.

The link between Risperdal and male breast growth is reported to be the result of an increase in prolactin. With an increase in levels of prolactin, males will suffer from the production of breast milk.

Moreover, the increase in prolactin levels associated with Risperdal and male breast growth is also linked to a decrease in sex drive and erectile dysfunction. Risperdal and male breast growth symptoms may also include swelling, pain, tenderness, or nipple discharge, in either one or both breasts.

Gynecomastia has been blamed for severe emotional and physical injuries in many young Risperdal patients. This extraordinary side effect has been the subject of several lawsuits filed against the drug’s manufacturer Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and its parent company Johnson & Johnson.

These Risperdal and male breast growth lawsuits have contended that the defendants have inadequately warned doctors and patients of the serious adverse side effects and complications that may result from taking the drug, including the development of male breast growth.

Plaintiffs in these Risperdal lawsuits allege they have suffered extreme harm due to gynecomastia, both in the physical deformation of their bodies and in the emotional fallout that follows. Had they been properly warned about the link between Risperdal and male breast growth, they claim, they never would have taken Risperdal in the first place.