Silicone prosthetics and anti-thyroid autoimmunity.

INTRODUCTION: In esthetic surgery, the use of silicone implants is a topic of hot discussion. MATERIAL AND METHODS: An analysis of 119 esthetic surgical interventions on the mammary gland was performed. A study of the immune and endocrine parameters after mammoplasty was carried out. RESULTS: The phenomenon of an increase in the levels of autoantibodies to the TSH receptor was revealed. The phenomenon of pre-operative growth of prolactin and TSH levels has been confirmed. An increase in thyroid autoimmunity after silicone mammoplasty is interpreted as a result of a silicone adjuvant action. An increase in the incidence of ASIA syndrome in patients who underwent breast surgery was registered. However, it was observed in both patients with silicone and non-silicone breast surgeries and therefore could not be solely explained by the use of silicone. Within 12 months following silicone mammoplasty, the patients with an increase of anti-TSH receptor autoimmunity nevertheless did not show any clinical and laboratory signs of overt thyroid disease, thus staying in a pre-nosological state. PRACTICAL RECOMMENDATIONS: Based on these results, we recommend the following for esthetic surgery: (a) all patients planned for silicone implant surgery should be examined for autoantibodies to the TSH receptor and (b) patients who have undergone breast endoprosthesis, starting 6 months after the operation, need long-term follow-up for thyroid status with mandatory testing for the level of these autoantibodies.

Autoimmune regulation of genetically determined cell functions in health and disease.

Autoimmunity and its contradictory nature in autopathokinesis have drawn attention from the emergence of immunology as a science. The properties of antibodies (AB) towards nuclear antigens (AGs) of endocrine cells are both theoretically and clinically hot topics as are their applications in the modulation of genetically determined cell functions. In this review we discuss the AB production after immunization of animals with nuclear AGs, their immunospecificity and the mechanisms of their intracellular penetration and association with nuclear proteins. There are data on the presence of similar autoAGs and corresponding autoABs in the blood of intact animals. The ABs towards nuclear components appear to be able to penetrate into the nuclei of the endocrine cells through mechanism(s) different from, e.g. ACTH, at least in adrenals. This suggests that autoimmunity is one of the mechanisms in the physiological regulation of cellular morphogenesis and functions. Physiological autoimmunity thus contributes to the bringing-together and co-tuning of genetic information reading. At the same time, however, the literature on autoimmunity has mostly been concentrated on eliciting a particular disease only. Apparently, this requires special reconsideration.