ELEVATED CONCENTRATIONS OF INTERLEUKIN-1-BETA AND INTERLEUKIN-1 RECEPTOR ANTAGONIST IN PLASMA OF WOMEN WITH SILICONE BREAST IMPLANTS

Plasma from 27 women with silicone breast implants (SBIs) and 50 age-m atched control women without SBIs were examined by enzyme immunoassay for the presence of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) and its naturally o ccurring receptor antagonist, IL-1ra. The results show that 74% (20 of 27) of women with SBIs had elevated concentrations of IL-1ra, whereas only 2% (1 of 50) of controls without SBIs had elevated concentration s of IL-1ra. In contrast to the IL-1ra results, the frequency of eleva ted IL-1 beta concentrations among women with SBIs was only 40% (11 of 27), but this was significantly higher than the 0% (0 of 50) in contr ol women without SBIs. These findings suggest that there is a chronic ongoing inflammatory profess in some women with SBIs, the implications of which are discussed in the context of silicone as an antigenic sti mulant of the immune system.