What Is Gynecomastia
Print PageBreast development usually occurs in males because of excessive female hormone stimulation. It can also occur because of:
- Testosterone deficiency
- Workplace exposure to estrogen
- Genetic disorders like Klinefelter, Wilson-Turner, & Reifenstein syndromes
- Goiter (overactive thyroid gland or thyrotoxicosis)
- Chronic kidney failure
- Hemodialysis
- Cirrhosis of the liver
- Hemochromatosis (excess iron)
- Adrenal gland disease
- Body-building through anabolic steroids
- Regular use of alcohol, cannabis (marijuana) or heroin
- Tumors of the brain, lungs, testicles, adrenal glands or breast
- Androgen insensitivity syndrome
- Hermaphroditism (ambiguous male/female genitals)
- Recovery from malnutrition (refeeding gynecomastia, Obal syndrome)
- Testicular failure following mumps
- Cancer chemotherapy (estramustine)
- Radiation therapy for cancer of the testicles
- Prescription drugs (digitalis, tricyclic antidepressants, cardiac glycosides, antihypertensives, spironolactone, cimetidine, ketoconazole, ßhCG, phenothiazines, and flutamide)
- Enzyme deficiency (17-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase isozyme 3 or aromatase)
- Retinitis pigmentosa
In addition to the 21 most frequent causes of gynecomastia listed above, there are a host of very rare diseases that list it as a sign. They are too numerous to list here.
Essentially, an imbalance occurs between estrogens (female hormones) and androgens (male hormones). Milk ducts in the breasts are stimulated to grow by estrogens, growth hormone (GH) and corticosteroids. Subsequently, the areolar lobules fill with milk when they are stimulated by prolactin and progesterone.