Breast implants and autoimmune disease.A new study strengthens the link between silicone gel breast implants Breast Implants Definition Breast implantation is a surgical procedure for enlarging the breast. Breast-shaped sacks made of a silicone outer shell and filled with silicone gel or saline (salt water), called implants, are used. and autoimmune diseases Autoimmune diseases A group of diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus, in which immune cells turn on the body, attacking various tissues and organs. Mentioned in: Complement Deficiencies, Premature Menopause such as systemic lupus erythematosus Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Definition Systemic lupus erythematosus (also called lupus or SLE) is a disease where a person's immune system attacks and injures the body's own organs and tissues. Almost every system of the body can be affected by SLE. , rheumatoid arthritis rheumatoid arthritis Chronic, progressive autoimmune disease causing connective-tissue inflammation, mostly in synovial joints. It can occur at any age, is more common in women, and has an unpredictable course. , and a skin-hardening disorder known as scleroderma scleroderma or progressive systemic sclerosis Chronic disease that hardens the skin and fixes it to underlying structures. Swelling and collagen buildup lead to loss of elasticity. The cause is unknown. . Scientists led by Eng M. Tan of Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif., have found so-called antinuclear antibodies in the blood of 23 women who developed autoimmune disease after receiving breast implants made of silicone gel. Tan and his colleagues report in the Nov. 28 Lancet that those women with the highest levels of such antibodies had the worst symptoms. Moreover, women whose implants had ruptured or leaked silicone experienced symptoms more than five years sooner than women whose implants had remained intact, they say. Physicians currently use elevated levels of specific antinuclear antibodies -- so named because they attack proteins within cell nuclei -- to diagnose various autoimmune disorders. Tan and his colleagues suggest that exposure to silicone can cause autoimmune diseases. However, they caution that their data do not allow them to rule out the possibility that such exposure simply hastens the onset of symptoms among women already developing an autoimmune disease. |
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