Fw: Bad News for Breast Implants ~ WebMD

[Guest guest]

From: " ilena rose " <ilena@...>

Sent: Friday, May 18, 2001 9:58 AM

Subject: Bad News for Breast Implants ~ WebMD

> http://my.webmd.com/content/article/1728.80004

>

> Bad News for Breast Implants

>

> Leaky Silicone Implants Linked to Painful Condition

> Liza Maltin

>

> WebMD Medical News

>

>

> Reviewed by Dr. Tonja Wynn Hampton

>

>

>

> May 18, 2001 -- In the early 1990s, the FDA declared silicone gel breast

> implants to be unsafe. But when continued research failed to reveal a

> significant health risk, the implants returned to the market -- for use in

> reconstructive surgery. Now a recent study introduces a new twist: Women

> whose ruptured implants leak silicone into their bodies seem to have a

> higher incidence of a painful syndrome called fibromyalgia, a study shows.

>

>

>

> Fibromyalgia is a debilitating syndrome characterized by body aches and

> tenderness, morning stiffness, loss of mental sharpness, and sleep

> difficulties. A rheumatologist usually diagnoses the condition.

>

>

>

> " This is the very first study in which the rupture status of every implant

> has been known, " study leader S. Lori Brown, PhD, MPH, tells WebMD. While

> many studies have looked at health problems in women with implants, she

> says, none has looked specifically at the potential risk of extracapsular

> silicone -- gel that has spread into the body beyond the scar tissue

> capsule surrounding the implant. The study appears in May's Journal of

> Rheumatology.

>

>

>

> The team surveyed women with silicone gel implants, asking if they thought

> they had fibromyalgia, if they had ever been diagnosed with it or a

> connective tissue disorder such as lupus or scleroderma, and about their

> health in general. None of the 907 respondents knew whether their implants

> had ruptured.

>

>

>

> Nearly 350 of the women who returned the survey were available to have

> their breast scanned with an MRI to determine whether their implants had

> ruptured.

>

>

>

> " We looked to see who had said they had [fibromyalgia] and other diseases,

> and how it correlated with the status of their breast implant -- as to

> whether it was intact or ruptured, " says Brown, an epidemiologist with the

> FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health

>

>

>

> They found that women with ruptured implants and with extracapsular gel,

> where silicone had leaked beyond the capsule, " were more likely to report

> to us that they had fibromyalgia than those whose implants were intact, "

> she tells WebMD. Not everyone with ruptured implants had extracapsular

gel,

> says Brown, but nearly everyone with extracapsular gel had a ruptured

> implant.

>

>

>

> " The findings are not surprising. Most of us [doctors] think there is more

> fibromyalgia among women with implants than in the population in general, "

> says Clarence W. Legerton III, MD, an associate professor of medicine in

> the division of rheumatology at the Medical University of South Carolina

in

> ton. He reviewed the paper for WebMD.

>

>

>

> On the other hand, extracapsular silicone means increased exposure to

> potential toxins, he tells WebMD, and " this is [yet] another study showing

> no connection between silicone implants and the connective tissue diseases

> like lupus or scleroderma. " And that's important, he says, in light of

> ongoing legal actions.

>

>

>

> " Our study compared women with implants to other women with implants, and

> the findings do suggest an association between extracapsular silicone and

> fibromyalgia, " Brown tells WebMD. Keep in mind, however, that an

> association does not necessarily indicate actual risk, she says.

>

>

>

> " This in no way shows a cause-and-effect relationship between

extracapsular

> silicone and fibromyalgia, " says Brown. " All we've observed here is a

> statistical association. " As with all scientific research, the results

must

> be replicated and confirmed independently before any strong conclusions

can

> be drawn or suggestions made.

>

>

>

> " If repeat studies do show a similar association, " she says, " then women

> considering getting implants should be informed of a risk " of

fibromyalgia.

>

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>

>