A Pharmacological and Toxicological Profile of Silver as an Antimicrobial Agent in Medical Devices
This is an impressive review of the available medical data regarding the pharmacology and toxicology of silver used as an antimicrobial agent in medical devices. Published in the journal Advances in Pharmacological Sciences, and written by Alan B. G. Lansdown, the well-known British researcher and author of the definitive guide to the use of silver in medical situations, Silver in Healthcare: It’s Antimicrobial Efficacy and Safety in Use (Issues in Toxicology, RSC Publishing).
The review concludes, in part, “Silver should not be regarded as a cumulative poison…Only in cases of chronic systemic silver overload situations where excretory mechanisms become saturated, does silver deposit in an inert fashion in lysosomal or intercellular sites, unrelated to tissue damage. In these situations, selenium serves as a major protective factor in precipitating the silver in a highly insoluble and hence inert form of silver selenide.”
