Silicate Specific Antibodies In Women With And Without Silicone Breast Implant

Objective To assess the effect of silicone on immune system by using an immunological assay to evaluate silicate specific antibody levels in women with and without silicone breast implants (SBI).Method Women (n=60) were categorized into two groups defined by a history of breast surgery (silicone breast implantation/no breast implantation). All the women had no classic connective tissue disease and symptoms such as fatigue, fibromyalgia, arthritis, muscle cramps, etc. Plasma sample was obtained by venipuncture from the 60 women. Sodium silicate (Na₂SioO₃) adsorbed onto bovine serum albumin (BSA)-precoated plates served as the solid-phase antigen in an enzyme immunoassay(EIA) to detect silicate-reactive antibodies in the plasma to detect silicate-reactive antibodies of IgG or IgM in plasma. Optical density (0D) of the plates was read at 405nm and all subsequent 0D values were transformed to EIA units from the standard curve. A t-test was used for correlation analysis. Statistical analyses...