The antipsychotic risperidone is a popular option used to treat a number of disorders in adults and adolescents. Unfortunately, for some boys and young men taking risperidone, there may be serious risperidone side effects. Complications linked with the drug include gynecomastia, which causes male breast growth.

Risperidone Background

Risperidone—which is the generic form of the brand name version of the drug, Risperdal—is a common antipsychotic medication used to treat a range of mental and mood disorders including schizophrenia, bipolar mania, and autism.

Risperidone was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) back in 1993, and is used for children as well as adults—one of the few antipsychotics used for children. The brand name Risperdal is sold by Janssen, a prominent subsidiary of pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson.

Risperidone works to combat these disorders by restoring the balance of certain natural substances in a patient’s brain. Unfortunately, risperidone can increase a person’s prolactin hormone levels to a concerning degree, which is known as hyperprolactinemia. Hyperprolactinemia place patients at risk of developing gynecomastia male breast growth problems.

A growing number of risperidone patients and their families are filing risperidone lawsuits, claiming that the use of the drug in boys and young men leads to gynecomastia breast growth. These patients claim that the drug’s manufacturers failed to adequately warn the public and the medical community about risperidone side effects, most notably gynecomastia male breast growth.

Risperidone Side Effects: Gynecomastia

While any medication comes with certain mild or rare risks, gynecomastia is one of the more problematic risperidone side effects. It reportedly affects adolescent males more often than adults.

While some might assume that the breast growth risperidone side effects are connected to excess fat, it is actually excess breast tissue. For some, the condition is not too severe and can be lived with. For others, the condition causes them to grow breasts as large as “D” cups.

Male breast growth from the use of risperidone has affected somewhere between hundreds and thousands of adolescent boys across the United States.

While there are other antipsychotics similar to risperidone, not all antipsychotics are linked so closely with gynecomastia. In fact, studies show that hyperprolactinemia occurs more commonly in patients taking risperidone than any other antipsychotic.

Filing a Lawsuit over Risperidone Side Effects

For hundreds of boys and young men who suffer from these risperidone side effects, the breasts they have developed from gynecomastia became such an issue in their lives that they were forced to go through surgery in order to have the excess tissue removed.

If you or someone you love was negatively impacted by risperidone side effects, especially gynecomastia male breast growth, you may be able to pursue a risperidone side effects lawsuit. Of course, filing a lawsuit cannot take away risperidone side effects or the physical and mental harm they can cause, but it can help to alleviate the financial burden caused by medical expenses and lost wages.