Risperdal
Risperdal is the brand name for Risperidone, a second-generation antipsychotic used to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism and dementia. Developed by Janssen-Cilag, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, the FDA approved its use in December 1993 via daily oral pills or injections lasting up to two weeks.
Against initial recommendation for adult use only, some patients started taking Risperdal as children or toddlers to treat agitation associated with autism, aggression and ADHD (Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder). Although the drug was never approved for children, about 25 percent of people taking it now are children and adolescents. Concern is increasing at an alarming rate over the damaging physical and emotional side effects of Risperdal in young boys.
The problem is that Risperdal works by blocking dopamine, which increases excess production of prolactin, the hormone responsible for regulating female breast development and lactation.
One of the most damaging and permanent reported side effects in young boys and teenagers is male breast growth, known as Gynecomastia. This condition is irreversible and can only be treated with surgery. Besides the costly and sometimes risky surgery required to treat the condition, growing “female” breasts can have a devastating effect on a boy’s or male teen’s emotional stability – when likely he is already taking Risperdal for some type of mental illness or behavior disorder.
Antidepressants
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most commonly prescribed antidepressants because they can ease symptoms of despair and lack of well-being with relatively little risk. That doesn’t mean there is no risk.
Here are some of the most common/popular SSRIs prescribed in 2022:
- Celexa
- Lexapro
- Prozac
- Paxil (Pexeva)
- Zoloft
The FDA requires that all antidepressants carry “black box warnings,” the strictest warnings for prescriptions of any category. SSRIs are effective at blocking certain chemicals from reaching the brain, but they may cause children, teenagers and young adults under 25 to have increased suicidal thoughts or behavior, especially in the first few weeks of ingestion or when the dose is changed.
Further, high doses of Celexa (citalopram) may cause dangerous abnormal heart rhythms, so citalopram doses are limited to 40 milligrams (mg) a day and reduced to 20 mg a day for people over age 60.
Anyone taking an SSR drug (antidepressant) should be vigilant to discuss detailed pros and cons with a trusted psychiatrist. Users should be watched closely for signs of worsening depression and/or distant, unusual behavior. If you or someone you know has suicidal thoughts while taking an antidepressant, immediately contact your doctor or get emergency help.
Hip Replacements
Thousands of orthopedic patients have undergone hip replacements since 2010, later found defective and prone to early failure. Hip implant surgery is brutal the first time but if it must be revised for failure, the second procedure is more complicated and doubly insulting since the defects could have been avoided.
At first, Exactech issued no recall for hip liners, being more concerned with malfunctions in its hip and ankle devices. The company falsely claimed a 99% success rate for its hips in early promotional campaigns. But in 2019, Exactech announced its Connexion GXL acetabular hip liner, already placed in 90,000 patients since 2010, was vulnerable to premature linear and volumetric wear from inferior packaging since 2004.
Last July (2021), Exactech voluntarily issued a recall of the 90,000 Connexion GXL hip implants, citing 18 years of defective packaging that allowed air to seep into inferior “vacuum-sealed” packaging and oxidize the polyethylene liners used as shock absorbers between the implant and surrounding bone casing.
Oxidation affects the hip insert’s flexibility, shortening its lifespan to less than half the 10-year longevity assured in marketing campaigns. Brittle liners in hip joint implants can cause a myriad of complications, beginning with imbalance and difficulty moving, and progressing to osteolysis (bone destruction) and irreversible bone damage from early failure.