Patients who suffer extraordinary side effects of Invega may benefit from a consultation with a knowledgeable Invega attorney.

Invega Basics

Invega is an atypical antipsychotic medication used to treat schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. It’s also known by its generic name paliperidone.

Invega has been available in the U.S. since 2006, when it first earned FDA approval. Invega Sustenna and Invega Trinza have also been approved as extended-release injection forms.

Atypical antipsychotics like Invega are believed to work by blocking the receptors for certain neurotransmitters – specifically, dopamine and serotonin. These drugs were developed to avoid certain undesirable side effects associated with older antipsychotics.

No drug is completely without side effects, however, and atypical antipsychotics soon presented their own. Patients taking atypical antipsychotics have reported side effects including weight gain, lipid disorders, and development of diabetes.

Invega has been associated with one particularly pernicious side effect known clinically as gynecomastia. Gynecomastia is the development of breast tissue in male patients. It can happen in males of any age, and it can cause the patient to grow breasts as large as a woman’s.

Scientists believe gynecomastia might result from the way Invega affects dopamine activity. By decreasing dopamine activity, Invega could be stimulating the pituitary gland to produce more prolactin, a hormone associated with breast growth and milk production.

While the physical effects of gynecomastia aren’t considered especially damaging, the psychological fallout can be significant. These emotional effects of gynecomastia can be particularly acute in younger patients.

Adolescent boys who develop gynecomastia can be particularly vulnerable to bullying from their peers. Studies have also found that young men with gynecomastia score lower than healthy peers on several different measures of psychological health and well-being.

When to Reach an Invega Attorney

Every drug has side effects. Drug manufacturers aren’t expected to completely eliminate the possibility of those side effects. They are, however, responsible for publishing adequate warnings and other product information that give patients a decent idea of what the associated risks are.

When a patient suffers because a drug company’s warnings were inadequate, it may be in that patient’s interest to consult an Invega attorney. Failure to warn has been a core argument raised in litigation over other drugs like Invega that have been associated with gynecomastia.

Some patients who sought legal help have gone on to win substantial jury awards at trial with the help of an Invega attorney. Among the cases that have gone to trial, jury awards have reached into the millions of dollars.

Not every case is successful. One jury agreed with the plaintiff that defendant Johnson & Johnson had improperly marketed its drug. They did not find a causal connection between the company’s action and the plaintiff’s gynecomastia, and for that reason the plaintiff was awarded no damages.

Each case is unique, and details matter. Getting in touch with an Invega attorney can give patients the best idea of where they stand legally and what their alternatives are.