Word: gel
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...shocking. A Scottish psychiatrist has charged Upjohn of Kalamazoo, Mich., with falsifying scientific evidence regarding the safety of the sleeping pill Halcion (annual worldwide sales: $240 million). The accusation has prompted a federal investigation. Dow Corning Wright of Arlington, Tenn., stands accused of failing to report that its silicone-gel breast implants were associated with severe side effects -- including the development of autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. That product and similar implants made by other manufacturers have been placed in 1 million to 2 million American women. If fraud has occurred, the cost cannot be compared with chicanery...
...fair, legal action is not only a valuable recourse for patients who have been harmed; it can also expose problems overlooked by regulators. It was lawsuits in Michigan and California -- and aggressive reporting by newspapers -- that revealed Dow Corning Wright's internal memos concerning the risks of silicone- gel implants...
...silicone breast-implant scandal may, however, change that relationship. Anderson's own trust in the system was shattered on Dec. 12, when he sat down and read scores of Dow Corning documents, including 17 internal memos dating as far back as the mid-1970s, about silicone-gel breast implants. The information surfaced during a liability suit in Michigan. When he finished, Anderson wrote and hand-delivered both the documents and an urgent letter to the FDA demanding that all such implants be promptly removed from the marketplace. "This appeal is not made lightly," Anderson wrote. He noted that Dow Corning...
...suspect gel has been linked to cancer in laboratory rats, according to a 1988 report. One type of implant, which has a polyurethane coating designed to prevent scar-tissue formation, poses a special danger, and was withdrawn from the market last April. The marshmallow-like foam coating has been shown to break down into a chemical called TDA (2-toluene diamine), which is known to cause cancer in animals...
Last week's FDA decision sharply reduces the options for women seeking to augment or rebuild their breasts. Not only were silicone-gel devices easy to insert but their look and feel best approximated the real thing. For 90% of women, they were the method of choice. While implants inflated with salt water are still available and considered safe (if they leak, the saline does no harm), they have drawbacks. They can shift as a woman moves, and the water may settle into the lower portion of the breast, stretching and tightening the skin. They are not recommended for thin...