Cohen Tervaert, J W, Mohazab, N, Redmond, D et al. · Expert review of clinical immunology · 2022 · DOI
This review examined whether silicone breast implants cause a condition called breast implant illness (BII), which includes symptoms like chronic fatigue, joint pain, muscle pain, and brain fog. The authors concluded that there is a causal link between silicone implants and these systemic symptoms in some women, and that removing the implants typically resolves the symptoms.
ME/CFS patients may benefit from understanding whether implantable medical devices can trigger or exacerbate systemic immune-mediated fatigue and cognitive symptoms. If silicone implants can cause a syndrome with significant overlap to ME/CFS presentation (fatigue, myalgia, cognitive dysfunction), this validates the pathophysiological plausibility of post-implant systemic illness and may inform investigation of similar mechanisms in ME/CFS.
This review does not establish the prevalence of BII or determine what percentage of implant recipients develop symptoms. It does not prove that silicone implants cause ME/CFS, nor does it identify the specific biological mechanism by which implants trigger immune activation. The study also does not compare symptom resolution rates with control groups or address potential confounding factors in symptom attribution.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
Spotted an error in this entry? Report it →