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December 30, 2000

Other Illnesses

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Question from Waukegan, Illinois, USA:

My 17 year old son, diagnosed at age 12, has developed gynecomastia [breast enlargement in a male of any age] and needs surgery. Could there be a connection to his type 1 diabetes?

Answer:

From: DTeam Staff

Not that I am aware of. Gynecomastia seems to be caused by an excessive sensitivity to estrogens. Boys and girls both make estrogens. Some boys may make too much estrogen, but most are actually too sensitive. Measured estrogens are in the normal levels. We are actually conducting trials on estrogen blockers with some success, so I feel confident of this. The diabetes is unrelated.

LD