Silicon breast implants may do wonders for your social life but are potentially harmful when it comes to health as they release high levels of reactive platinum in the bodies of women who sport them, a study has warned.
Under the study, researchers Ernest Lykissa and Susan Maharaj reviewed samples from 21 women, 16 of who had used these implants for around 14 years, and found that those who wore implants had about 100 times higher levels of platinum in their urine, hair, nails and breast milk than their non-implant counterparts. The levels of the mineral in the urine of women with implants and those without differed by as much as 1,700 times in some cases. The worst news was that this platinum existed in a form that could cause severe allergies and negative reactions.
“Implant manufacturers have said for years that their platinum is not harmful, and when the device is manufactured, they are correct. But in the body, we know that the implants degrade and the platinum can disperse and take on a more reactive form,” said Ernest Lykissa, a Texas forensic toxicologist.
If corroborated and accepted, the findings of the study might prove to be a setback for Mentor Corp and Inamed Corp that are close to returning the breast enhancement tool to the market after they were banned in 1992. In many cases, implants are used by cancer survivors after breast amputation but most sales are for women looking for cosmetic enhancement of their breasts.
FDA spokesperson Susan Cruzan said the findings would be closely scrutinized for their accuracy. “FDA will conduct a thorough review of this study. We don't know how long that will take,” she said.
Hailing the study, Marlene Keeling, of Chemically Associated Neurological Disorders (CAND) that funded the research, said the findings “show now that the platinum that is being released is in a harmful reactive form. This is important for women who may have leaking implants in their body and also for young women who are considering breast-feeding their children.” She added that this was the first study that found platinum in a harmful form in women who used implants. “With this now published in a peer-reviewed journal, they'll all have to take it more seriously than they have in the past. We've presented preliminary information to the FDA, and they've basically dismissed it before,” Keeling said.
In its earlier petition in 2000, CAND had expressed concerns about the implants and platinum. But the FDA rejected the concerns basing its decision on the findings of the IOM. “Evidence does not suggest there are high concentrations in implants, significant diffusion of platinum out of implants or platinum toxicity in humans,” the IOM had stated.
Meanwhile, some chemistry experts reacted to the study with skepticism. Michael Brook, a silicon specialist from McMaster University in Ontario and consultant to Inamed, said the study's finding that platinum was found in a harmful state is the first of its kind. “Because that finding seems so questionable, it's hard to know how to read other findings presented,” Brook said.
The study has been detailed in the journal
Analytical Chemistry.
