BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Lawyers for Dow Corning Corp. say that a scientific panel's finding of no link between breast implants and illness is more proof that its products did not make women sick.
"This adds to the trend of the past couple of years of courts rejecting the hypothesis that breast implants cause disease," lawyer Doug Schoettinger said.Dow Corning, once the largest maker of breast implants, was forced into bankruptcy amid a flood of lawsuits from women who claimed the implants gave them a host of health problems, including heart disease, lupus and arthritis.
But on Tuesday a court-appointed scientific panel said it saw no proven links between silicone breast implants and disease.
Testimony by the independent, four-member committee will be videotaped for use nationwide in courts where women have filed suit.
Ralph Knowles, an attorney for women suing the implant makers, predicted the scientists' conclusions would not hold up under the scrutiny of cross-examination and wouldn't affect lawsuits.
Appointed by U.S. District Judge Sam Pointer of Birmingham to review conflicting scientific claims about implants, the scientists found no definite links between implants and systemic disease. Pointer oversees 8,600 implant cases nationwide.
Sjogren's syndrome, marked by unusual dryness of the mouth, may be linked to implants, the panel said. But its symptoms are nonspecific and relatively common in any population group, they reported.
The panel evaluated previously published studies about systemic diseases and their possible links to implants. Members did not consider so-called local problems, such as risks posed by ruptured implants.
Thousands of women have sued companies blaming implants for sicknesses including lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, body aches, fatigue, memory loss and hardening of the breasts. Their lawyers claim science backs up the claims.
Manufacturers deny their products are dangerous and point to other studies that found no links between implants and health problems.
Pointer appointed the panel to sort out the conflicting scientific opinions, but a researcher trained in epidemiology aligned with the women's side said that is not what happened.
"It would be misleading to say this report shows there are no problems. What it says is, 'We don't know,"' said Diana Zuckerman of the Institute for Women's Policy Research in Washington.
It was unclear what role the panel's work would have in the cases of thousands of women who sued Dow Corning, which last month proposed a $3.2 billion settlement to resolve the claims and help it emerge from bankruptcy court.