5 DISCO Drugs Causing Gynaecomastia: Super Medical Mnemonics

Gynaecomastia occurs when male breast tissue expands. This occurs when male hormones (testosterone) are low or female hormones are high (oestrogen). The potential causes include- puberty, ageing, medicine, and health disorders influencing hormones. In this post, we will find explore what are the DISCO drugs causing gynaecomastia and explore all other drugs such as anti-retroviral drugs.


Drugs causing Gynaecomastia

The mnemonic for drugs causing gynaecomastia is as follows:

DISCO

  • Digitalis
  • INH
  • Spironolactone
  • Cimetidine
  • Oestrogen

Mechanism of Gynaecomastia by Drugs

Digitalis

Digitalis has Estrogen-like activity and hence stimulates the breast.

Isoniazid

It has Anti-androgenic activity.

Spironolactone

It is an Androgen receptor antagonist.

Cimetidine

Similarly, cimetidine also is an Androgen receptor antagonist.

Oestrogen

It stimulates the breasts directly.


Check out our Anatomy Mnemonics!


Additional Drugs

Some drugs which are not covered in the DISCO mnemonic but cause gynaecomastia are:

  1. Haloperidol
  2. Amiodarone
  3. Calcium Channel Blockers (verapamil, nifedipine, diltiazem)
  4. Diazepam
  5. Methyldopa
  6. Phenytoin
  7. Reserpine
  8. Vincristine
  9. Methotrexate
  10. Ketoconazole
  11. Metronidazole
  12. Penicillamine
  13. Theophylline

Drugs causing Gynaecomastia based on mechanism

List of drugs causing gynaecomastia based on the mechanism of action:

Estrogenic Properties

  1. Anabolic Steroids
  2. Diazepam
  3. Digoxin
  4. Estrogen agonists
  5. Estrogen
  6. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists (GnRH agonists)
  7. Human Chorionic Gonadotropins (hcg)
  8. Phenytoin

Anti-androgenic properties

  1. Alkylating agents
  2. Bicalutamide
  3. Cimetidine
  4. Cisplatin
  5. Flutamide
  6. Isoniazid
  7. Ketoconazole
  8. Marijuana
  9. Methotrexate
  10. Metronidazole
  11. Omeprazole
  12. Penicillamine
  13. Ranitidine
  14. Spironolactone
  15. Vinca alkaloids

Increase metabolism of androgen

  1. Alcohol

Increase sex hormone-binding globulin concentration

  1. Diazepam
  2. Phenytoin

Induces Hyperprolactinemia

  1. Haloperidol
  2. Metoclopramide
  3. Phenothiazine

Unknown mechanism

  1. Amiodarone
  2. Amlodipine
  3. Amphetamines
  4. ACE inhibitors
  5. Anti-retroviral drugs
  6. Atorvastatin
  7. Didanosine
  8. Diltiazem
  9. Etomidate
  10. Fenofibrate
  11. Finasteride
  12. Fluoxetine
  13. Heroin
  14. Methadone
  15. Methyldopa
  16. Minocycline
  17. Minoxidil
  18. Mirtazapine
  19. Nifedipine
  20. Nilutamide
  21. Paroxetine
  22. Reserpine
  23. Risperidone
  24. Rosuvastatin
  25. Sulindac
  26. Theophylline
  27. TCA
  28. Venlafaxine
  29. Verapamil

We hope this post helped you with DISCO drugs causing gynaecomastia. If you have any feedback or queries, please leave them in the comments.

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