Cognitive Impairment, Sleep Disturbance, and Depression in Women with Silicone Breast Implants: Association with Autoantibodies against Autonomic Nervous System Receptors
Milena Tocut,
Gilad Halpert,
Avishai M. Tsur,
Kassem Sharif,
Harald Heidecke,
Yair Levy,
Abdulla Watad,
Howard Amital,
Yehuda Shoenfeld
Affiliations
Milena Tocut
Department of Medicine C, Wolfson Medical Center, Affiliated to Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
Gilad Halpert
Zabludowicz Center for Autoimmune Diseases, Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Ramat Gan 52621, Affiliated to Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
Avishai M. Tsur
Department of Medicine ‘B’ and Zabludowicz Center for Autoimmune Diseases, Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Ramat Gan 52621, Affiliated to Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
Kassem Sharif
Department of Medicine ‘B’ and Zabludowicz Center for Autoimmune Diseases, Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Ramat Gan 52621, Affiliated to Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
Harald Heidecke
CellTrend GmbH, 14943 Luckenwalde, Germany
Yair Levy
Department of Medicine E, Meir Medical Center, Kfar Saba 4428164, Affiliated to Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
Abdulla Watad
Department of Medicine ‘B’ and Zabludowicz Center for Autoimmune Diseases, Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Ramat Gan 52621, Affiliated to Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
Howard Amital
Department of Medicine ‘B’ and Zabludowicz Center for Autoimmune Diseases, Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Ramat Gan 52621, Affiliated to Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
Yehuda Shoenfeld
Zabludowicz Center for Autoimmune Diseases, Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Ramat Gan 52621, Affiliated to Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
Background: Silicone breast implants (SBIs) has been shown to be associated with an increased risk of autoimmune diseases. In the current study, we aimed to explore the potential association between circulating autoantibodies against the autonomic nervous system and cognitive impairment, memory deficit, and depressive symptoms reported by women with SBIs. Methods: ELISA assays were used to quantify anti-adrenergic receptors (α1, α2, β1, β2), anti-muscarinic receptors (M1-M5), anti-endothelin receptor type A, and anti-angiotensin II type 1 receptor titers in the sera of 93 symptomatic female subjects with SBIs and 36 age-matched healthy female controls. Results: A significant difference was detected in the level of autoantibodies against the autonomic nervous system receptors in women with SBIs who reported memory impairment, cognitive impairment, and sleep disturbance as compared with both women with SBIs who did not complain of these symptoms or with healthy individuals without SBIs. Conclusions: Clinical symptoms such as depression, cognitive impairment, and sleep disturbances were found to be associated with dysregulation of the levels of circulating autoantibodies targeting the autonomous nervous system receptors in women with SBIs. These autoantibodies may have diagnostic significance in diseases associated with breast implants.