Study: New Hip Implants Can Cause Toxic Metal Poisoning Read more: Study: New Hip Implants Can Cause Toxic Metal Poisoning Important: At Risk For A Heart Attack? Find Out Now.

Hundreds of thousands of hip-replacement patients have been exposed to dangerously high levels of toxic metals from failing implants, according to a new study by British researchers. A joint investigation by the BBC and the British Medical Journal has found toxic cobalt and chromium ions can seep into the tissues of patients with all-metal hip implants, leaving some patients with long-term disability. Studies have also shown that metal ions can damage bone and muscle, leach into the bloodstream, and spread to the lymph nodes, spleen, liver, and kidneys, researchers noted. There are also concerns about damage to chromosomes that can lead to genetic changes. In a release that accompanied the study’s findings, researchers said their investigation raises new concerns over metal hip implants that “may affect more people than the (European) breast implants scandal.” "Hip replacements are one of the great successes of modern medicine. But a combination of inadequate regulation and untrammeled commercialism has caused actual and potential harm for large numbers of patients around the world,” said BMJ editor in chief Dr. Fiona Godlee, in a statement Tuesday. “They should have known about the risks, as the manufacturers and regulators did, but they were not told." Dr. David Brownstein, a board-certified family physician, tells Newsmax Health the findings highlight the need for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to take stronger steps to protect patients. “Certainly the findings are surprising because we expect when the FDA approves a replacement device, we expect it to be good quality and properly studied,” said Dr. Brownstein, medical director for the Center for Holistic Medicine in West Bloomfield, Mich. “This is another example of the FDA not doing its job and not looking out for us. They seem to make misstep after misstep, and unfortunately patients are paying the price for these missteps.” Dr. Brownstein, author of the “Natural Way to Health” newsletter, advises any patients who have metal implants to keep the stress off their hips by keeping their weight down, and also to do everything they can to boost their immune systems to fight any impacts from leaching metals. “Take antioxidants and keep your detoxification pathways open,” he said. In an article accompanying the BMJ study, Dr. Carl Heneghan and colleagues suggest the alarming findings highlight the need for follow up review of medical devices after they hit the open market. "No pre-market system can ensure all devices are safe, but they can certainly make it more likely," he said. "Creating an independent system for post-marketing analysis for implantable medical devices that is robust and increasing international coordination around device alerts and withdrawals should go some way to sorting out the current mess." The BMJ study is the latest in a series of developments over the past year that have raised questions and concerns about the safety of so-called metal-on-metal hip replacements — where the ball and cup of the implant are both made of metal. Last May, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ordered the makers of all-metal replacements to study how frequently they fail after Johnson & Johnson recalled one of the most problematic devices, the Articular Surface Replacement. The FDA also said it has received thousands of patient complaints about faulty metal-on-metal hips last year. Then in January, the U.S. Hospital for Special Surgery reported that tens of thousands of patients with faulty replacements can have lasting, debilitating damage. In addition, many of the 500,000 patients who have received all-metal hip implants may need to have them replaced, researchers said.