Medications causing gynecomastia
A number of medications have been associated with gynecomastia and include:
- There are some drugs used to treat prostate cancer and these are
anti androgenic medications. By blocking the male hormones, these
drugs stimulate the actions of female sex hormones. The most commonly
used anti androgenic medications are flutamide and Finasteride.
- There are some medications used to treat AIDS that can also cause
gynecomastia. These medications are efavirenz or didanosine.
Unfortunately, these medications are life saving and the individual
just can’t stop them. There are some alternative HIV medications
available which do not cause gynecomastia.
- Anti-anxiety medications such as diazepam (Valium) also been linked
to gynecomastia. However, this is not a reproducible finding in all
patients who take valium.
- Tricyclic antidepressants have also been associated with gynecomastia.
- The most common medication known to cause gynecomastia is cimetidine.
However, this is not seen in all patients. There are other anti ulcer
medications which have been reported to cause gynecomastia. However,
this is not a universal finding.
- Cancer drugs are also known to cause gynecomastia.
- Heart medications such as digitalis and spironolactone are also
known to cause gynecomastia.
Illicit drugs and alcohol
Illicit drug use and alcohol appears to be a common cause of gynecomastia among adolescents and older individuals. The majority of these individuals develop gynecomastia after prolonged use of these agents. Other illicit drugs that have also been known to cause this disorder are heroin and use of anabolic steroids.
Alcohol is postulated to cause gynecomastia after the liver is destroyed. A cirrhotic liver is no longer able to breakdown the normal circulating female sex hormone- and this eventually accumulates and causes gynecomastia. Steroids and other excess androgens are sometimes converted by the body into estrogens and consequently cause gynecomastia.
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