Two Cases of Painful Gynecomastia and Lower Extremity Pain in Association with Pregabalin Therapy

• Published in: Epilepsia (Copenhagen) Vol. 47; no. 9; pp. 1576 - 1579
• Main Authors: Málaga, Ignacio, Sanmarti, Francesc X.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Malden, USA Blackwell Publishing Inc 01.09.2006; Blackwell
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adverse reaction; Anticonvulsants - adverse effects; Anticonvulsants - therapeutic use; Antiepileptic drug; Biological and medical sciences; Drug toxicity and drugs side effects treatment; Edema - chemically induced; Edema - pathology; Epilepsy; Epilepsy - drug therapy; gamma-Aminobutyric Acid - adverse effects; gamma-Aminobutyric Acid - analogs & derivatives; gamma-Aminobutyric Acid - therapeutic use; Gynecomastia; Gynecomastia - chemically induced; Headache. Facial pains. Syncopes. Epilepsia. Intracranial hypertension. Brain oedema. Cerebral palsy; Humans; Ilium - pathology; Lower Extremity - pathology; Lower Extremity - physiopathology; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Medical sciences; Nervous system (semeiology, syndromes); Neurology; Pain; Pain - chemically induced; Pain - diagnosis; Pain - pathology; Pain - physiopathology; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Pregabalin; Toxicity: cardiovascular system; Toxicity: osteoarticular system; Mammary gland diseases; Nervous system diseases; Analgesic; Pain; Treatment; Epilepsy; Central nervous system disease; Pregabalin-Adverse reaction- Gynecomastia-Pain-Antiepileptic drug-Epilepsy; Anticonvulsant; Pregabalin; Gynecomasty; Cerebral disorder
• ISSN: 0013-9580; 1528-1167
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1528-1167.2006.00713.x

We report two patients with refractory epilepsy who developed unilateral painful gynecomastia and lower extremity pain (one of them localized and the other one diffuse), shortly after receiving Pregabalin (PGB). Neither of them had previous endocrinologic problems or complaints about pain on their medical history. PGB was stopped in one patient and reduced in the other one, with complete disparition of the symptoms in the following weeks in both patients. This supports the hypothesis that gynecomastia could be a drug‐induced and easy to manage secondary effect of PGB, with a higher incidence than observed on previous clinical trials.