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Dad Claims Children's Early Puberty Triggered By Exposure To Testosterone Cream

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The family of a man who alleges that his use of a topical testosterone product caused unexpected medical problems in his wife and children after they came in physical contact with him is going to court.

Andrew and Tiziana Simpson filed the lawsuit Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court against Great Earth Compounding Pharmacy, the Akasha Center for Integrative Medicine and physicians there who allegedly prescribed the bio-identical hormone therapy replacement cream to Andrew Simpson.

According to the suit, doctors neglected to warn Andrew Simpson, 51, that accidental testosterone exposure in women and children who live or interact closely with men using the product is a "serious problem".

The family is seeking unspecified damages for alleged negligence, breach of warranty, fraud and misrepresentation.

The complaint alleges Simpson began taking the testosterone cream product after doctors at Akasha Center prescribed it to him in April 2014. Simpson's medical records from that period showed that he was married with two children, the suit states.

About two years later, Simpson claims he realized the product was the source of "severe adverse medical problems to his family" and that doctors never informed him of any risks linked to the product.

His wife, now 44, developed "gynecological conditions" and underwent a premature hysterectomy, while the couple's 10-year-old son and five-year-old daughter "developed enlarged reproductive organs, growth of pubic hair, advanced bone age, precocious puberty, virilization, abnormally increased growth and aggressive behavior," according to the complaint.

The Simpsons now say they "are left uncertain about the prognosis of (their children) and their future health conditions," the suit states.

There was no immediate comment from the pharmacy or the Akasha Center.

Federal regulators warned as early as 2009 about the risks associated with children's exposure to testosterone, including inappropriate virilization, which refers to the development of male secondary sexual characteristics, the complaint stated.

(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)

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