Slippery but safe to wear
Article Abstract:
Silicones used in breast implants have allegedly caused cancer, but it is more probable that it is the polyurethane bags holding the gel that are to blame. Silicones are used widely as lubricants and for waterproofing, switches and scar reduction, and since the 1960s, in breast implants. Since the scare, the US Food and Drug Administration has announced a short term ban although it has been noted that body tissue does not absorb silicone. The most likely cause of cancers from breast implants is the degeneration of the gel-holding bag that produces toluene diamine, which has caused cancer in rats.
Publication Name: The Independent
Subject: Retail industry
ISSN: 0951-9467
Year: 1992
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
The poison prescribed by Agatha Christie
Article Abstract:
Thallium sulphate is illegal in the UK but in Iraq it is often used by the security forces to poison dissidents. It is colourless and tasteless and after a week the victim shows symptoms similar to those of encephalitis, epilepsy and neuritis. Ngaio Marsh and Agatha Christie described this poison in their murder novels. The body confuses it with potassium and absorbs it before excretion. The antidote is Prussian blue.
Publication Name: The Independent
Subject: Retail industry
ISSN: 0951-9467
Year: 1992
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
A bitter pill with a fatal attraction
Article Abstract:
There are an average of five paracetamol-related deaths a week in the UK. In most cases, the victim has deliberately taken an overdose, but in others it has been accidental. Paracetamol, the generic name for N-(4-hydroxyphenyl) acetamide, acts mainly on the nervous system by blocking the enzymes required to produce prostaglandins. When taken in excessive quantities, it can cause irreversible liver damage.
Publication Name: The Independent
Subject: Retail industry
ISSN: 0951-9467
Year: 1996
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
- Abstracts: The burger that ate the world. At least he died with his boots on
- Abstracts: All played out in black and white. A lifetime in miniature. Walton's evergreen symphony
- Abstracts: New strategy, but Clark's chief finds strength in traditions. Lunching for London: It's a serious job
- Abstracts: How clever to be Mr Jay. It isn't the plutonium that makes him glow. The very reverend Brian Redhead
- Abstracts: The man who fell to earth. Heady stuff, all that nudist volleyball. Welcome to Britain. Queue here