Neuroimaging in Breast Implant Illness: An fMRI Pilot Study

Some women with breast implants report systemic and cognitive symptoms known as breast implant illness (BII), which are very similar to those of fibromyalgia. Functional MRI (fMRI) has shown altered brain activity in fibromyalgia patients.

The aim of this pilot study was to investigate whether brain alterations could be observed in BII patients by fMRI.

Women aged 18 to 76 with silicone breast implants for cosmetic reasons were recruited through a Dutch online BII support organization (MKS) and through the Maastricht University Medical Center. Study participants comprised 12 women with BII and 12 women without symptoms. Participants completed questionnaires regarding demographic characteristics, medical history, psychosocial complaints (Four-Dimensional Symptom Questionnaire), cognitive failure (Mini-Mental State Examination), and pain intensity and pain-related disability (Chronic Pain Grade Scale). Subsequently, brain images of all participants were obtained by resting-state fMRI and diffusion tensor imaging in a 3-T MRI scanner (Siemens Medical System, Erlangen, Germany).

Eleven BII patients and 12 healthy controls were included in the analysis. Baseline characteristics were similar in the 2 groups and the mean silicone exposure was 15 years. Patients scored significantly higher than controls on both pain intensity and disability. Patients scored worse on depression, somatization, distress, and anxiety compared with asymptomatic women. Mini-Mental State Examination scores were normal. However, the analyses of both functional connectivity and structural integrity showed no significant differences between the 2 groups.

This pilot study showed no evidence of brain alterations in BII patients. However, patients scored significantly worse on psychosocial symptoms than controls. Psychological factors appear to play an important role in BII and should be further investigated.