51.   The agreement, however, leaves unresolved the dispute between the two sides over the harm from silicone implants.

52.   The author, a physician, examines the long and complicated lawsuits against Dow Corning and other manufacturers of silicone breast implants.

53.   The bill already would exclude tobacco companies and makers of silicone breast implants from its legal protections.

54.   The agency has tightened up mammography regulations and has restricted the use of silicone breast implants to clinical studies until their safety is proven.

55.   The decision also could have an impact on class-action lawsuits against Dow Corning Corp. over alleged injuries from silicone breast implants.

56.   The claim they have made in courts, convincingly to juries, is that silicone breast implants have caused grievous diseases in women.

57.   The FDA has been criticized for not adequately testing the silicone gel implants, ruptured and leaked in thousands of women, causing tissue and other damage.

58.   The government looked in, too, and a year after Mariann sounded the alarm, the FDA took silicone implants off the market.

59.   The French government withdrew silicone breast implants from the market in May, saying they might rupture and lead to other health complications.

60.   The insurers maintained that Dow Corning failed to disclose the dangers of the silicone breast implants when it took out the policies.