A Texas man alleges that a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary sold and marketed a product used for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder that left him struggling with side effects that caused man boobs, according to a Risperdal lawsuit recently filed in Philadelphia Court.

Plaintiff Isaac Garza alleges that he took Risperdal for four years beginning in 2007 before switching to a newer J&J treatment, Invega, in 2011. At some time during this period, the man developed gynecomastia – a condition that causes male breast growth. Gynecomastia is one of the side effects of Risperdal, which Garza says he was unaware of due to a lack of warning on the drug’s label.

The Risperdal lawsuit names J&J subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals as well as Excerpta Medica Inc. and its parent company Elsevier Inc.  as defendants. Elsevier is a publishing company and Excerpta Medica is a subsidiary involved in medical communications.

Similar Risperdal lawsuits have named the two as defendants based on information and belief that they helped put together advertising campaigns that allegedly resulted in the off-label marketing of the drug to children. While the medication is now approved for certain uses in younger populations, at the time many plaintiffs took the drugs, Risperdal side effects such as gynecomastia and man boobs were a little-researched possibility for adolescent males.

It is now believed that the reason behind these conditions is hormonal imbalances caused by the mechanism of action for the atypical antipsychotic. It is a dopamine D2 receptor which affects how the pituitary sends out different chemicals. The rate in children can be up to 87 percent, according to some Risperdal lawsuits. This may be exacerbated by the weight gain, which can affect up to one-third of young men.

Unfortunately, while there may be wellness programs for getting to a healthy weight and body mass index, the procedures required to treat Risperdal gynecomastia side effects are elective, meaning that patients may have to pay several thousand dollars out of pocket. Plaintiffs in dozens of Risperal lawsuits say the drug companies behind the medication should pay up for their surgeries to correct the problems they failed to warn about.

The Risperdal side effects lawsuit is Isaac Garza v. Janssen Pharmaceuticals, et al., Case No. 130902319, in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.