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Surgery

Adverse reactions to metal-on-metal implants

New data demonstrate that cobalt ions promote immune system activation through Toll-like receptor 4 signalling. This finding adds to our understanding of the adverse innate and adaptive immune reactions evoked by debris released from metal-on-metal total or resurfacing joint replacement implants, which have provoked recommendations against their use.

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Figure 1: Proposed mechanisms for adverse reactions to CoCrMo-based MoM implants.

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Correspondence to Yrjö T. Konttinen.

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Konttinen, Y., Pajarinen, J. Adverse reactions to metal-on-metal implants. Nat Rev Rheumatol 9, 5–6 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrrheum.2012.218

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