Study Shows Implants Do Tear With Age
Silicone breast implants weaken with age and rupture more frequently than medical experts and manufacturers had suspected, according to researchers from the Food and Drug Administration. But they are still not sure if the leakage of the gel causes disease in other organs of the body.
Dr. Lori Brown reported in the Nov. 22 Lancet that rupture rates were much higher than the 0.2% to 1.1% reported by manufacturers. One study they reviewed showed 63.6% of breast implants that had been in place for between one and 25 years had ruptured or were leaking. “The proportion of women who could expect to have both implants intact was 89% after eight years and 51% after 12 years, but only 5% after 20 years,” Brown said. An estimated 2 million American women have had silicone implants.
Veterans’ Stress May Lead to Infections
Veterans of heavy combat in Vietnam who were found to have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are significantly more likely to suffer both chronic and infectious diseases, even 20 years later, according to epidemiologist Joseph A. Boscarino of the Sisters of Charity Nazareth Health System. Boscarino studied the medical histories of 1,399 Vietnam veterans who were located by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Boscarino reported in the December Psychosomatic Medicine that one quarter of the men suffered from PTSD. Those men were 50% to 150% more likely to have circulatory, digestive, musculoskeletal, respiratory, infectious and other serious diseases than veterans who saw little combat.
Post Menopause, Pace of Walk May Matter
Walking is good for post-menopausal women, but the speed at which they walk may control the precise benefits achieved, according to kinesiologist Katarina T. Borer of the University of Michigan. She reported at a recent meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine that women who walked at a slower, 18-20 minute-a-mile pace burned more fat and became more sensitive to the effects of insulin--good news for those at risk of diabetes. The sensitivity to insulin tapered off among those who walked a brisk 15 minutes-per-mile pace, but they secreted more growth hormone for strong bones and lean body mass.
Warming Blood Can Save Accident Victims
Accident victims whose body temperatures fall dangerously low can often be revived by warming their blood, even if their hearts have stopped beating, Swiss doctors have found. In the New England Journal of Medicine, the doctors described the recoveries of 15 young victims whose body temperatures had fallen below 82 degrees Fahrenheit. Most were mountain climbers who had fallen into crevasses or people who had suffered exposure after suicide attempts.
When they were found, all 15 victims were unconscious, and six had no pulse or signs of breathing. At hospitals, doctors routed their blood through cardiopulmonary bypass machines, which heated the blood and then returned it to their bodies. All survived with virtually no long-term problems.
Gene Variant Protects Some From Lung Cancer
About 8% of Americans have a gene variant that protects them against lung cancer, even when they smoke, government researchers reported in the Nov. 19 Cancer Research. Researchers from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences said the gene variant--one of several normal versions of the gene--reduces the risk of lung cancer by about 54% among smokers. This could explain why a few people seem to be able to smoke with impunity, while many others succumb to lung cancer, which doctors say is almost always linked with smoking.
The team said about 9.4% of black Americans and 7.8% of whites who were studied had the variation in the gene that controls production of an enzyme known as myeloperoxidase. Myeloperoxidase, activates the potent carcinogen benzopyrene, which is a product of tobacco smoke and most other kinds of combustion.
--Compiled by Thomas H. Maugh II
