Saline breast implant research
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
Potential autoimmune reaction to breast implants may be linked to the implants' silicone shell and not the contents of the prostheses, Henry Claman, MD, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, reports to FDA. Both saline- and silicone gel-filled breast implants employ a silicone shell. In Jan. 26 comments on FDA's proposed call for saline-filled breast implants, Claman says his study results found that "there was no correlation between antinuclear antibody [ANA] positivity," which indicates autoimmune response, and the type of implant. "Thus, a positive ANA might be related to the silicone shell rather than the contents." Claman's research on over 100 patients recently was submitted to the Western Journal of Medicine.