How effective are lead-rubber aprons in protecting radiosensitive organs from secondary ionizing radiation?

Peroxiredoxin 6 (Prdx6) is a member of an evolutionary ancient family of peroxidase enzymes with diverse functions in the cell. Prdx6 is an important enzymatic antioxidant. It reduces a wide range of peroxide substrates in the cell, thus playing a leading role in the maintenance of the redox homeostasis in mammalian cells. Beside peroxidase activity, Prdx6 has been shown to possess an activity of phospholipase A2, an enzyme playing an important role in membrane phospholipid metabolism. Moreover, Prdx6 takes part in intercellular and intracellular signal transduction due to its peroxidase and phospholipase activity, thus facilitating the initiation of regenerative processes in the cell, suppression of apoptosis, and activation of cell proliferation. Being an effective and important antioxidant enzyme, Prdx6 plays an essential role in neutralizing oxidative stress caused by various factors, including action of ionizing radiation. Endogenous Prdx6 has been shown to possess a significant radioprotective potential in cellular and animal models. Moreover, intravenous infusion of recombinant Prdx6 to animals before irradiation at lethal or sublethal doses has shown its high radioprotective effect. Exogenous Prdx6 effectively alleviates the severeness of radiation lesions, providing normalization of the functional state of radiosensitive organs and tissues, and leads to a significant elevation of the survival rate of animals. Prdx6 can be considered as a potent and promising radioprotective agent for reducing the pathological effect of ionizing radiation on mammalian organisms. The radioprotective properties and mechanisms of radioprotective action of Prdx6 are discussed in the current review.

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Thyroid and adrenal function in children born 5 years after the Chernobyl accident in economically unfavourable regions of Belarus

Problems of Endocrinology ◽

10.14341/probl12162 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 40 (5) ◽

pp. 22-24

Author(s):

Yu. N. Boiko ◽

A. N. Cherevko ◽

A. M. Petrova ◽

V. K. Zubovich

Keyword(s):

Thyroid Gland ◽

Ionizing Radiation ◽

Adrenal Cortex ◽

Radiation Effects ◽

Radioactive Iodine ◽

The Body ◽

Functional Changes ◽

Cesium Radionuclides ◽

The Republic ◽

Radiosensitive Organs

Currently, there is no doubt the need to study the comprehensive influence of ionizing radiation one the body finctions. Under the influence of ionizing radiation, the development of compensatory and adaptive-adaptive mechanisms of the most radiosensitive organs and tissues to reduce post-radiation effects is of particular importance. Under these conditions, a change in the functional activity of the pituitary-thyroid and adrenal systems is possible, the hormones of which are actively involved in the main adaptation processes. A generally recognized fact is the high radiosensitivity of the above systems, especially in a growing childs body. In the first days after the accident, the main biologically significant radionuclides were iodine isotopes, which caused the formation of dose loads on the thyroid gland. At present, the long-lived radionuclides 13^Cs and 90Sr have a decisive influence on the radiation situation in the republic. The greatest contribution to the radiation dose is made by cesium radionuclides. Some authors studied the functional state of the pituitary-thyroid system in children exposed in 1986 to radioactive iodine in the ante- and postnatal periods. Issues of the occurrence of functional changes in the thyroid gland and adrenal cortex, induced by the intake of radionuclides that are not deposited in these organs, have hardly been studied. Of considerable interest is the study of the state of the functions of the thyroid gland and adrenal cortex in children born and living under the influence of low doses of radiation, whose mothers were exposed to radioactive iodine.

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Radiation-induced surface decomposition

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100075592 ◽

1983 ◽

Vol 41 ◽

pp. 368-369

Author(s):

M. L. Knotek

Keyword(s):

Ionizing Radiation ◽

Atomic Structure ◽

Chemical Bonding ◽

Neutral Species ◽

Radiation Induced ◽

Physical And Chemical ◽

Surface Decomposition ◽

The Relationship ◽

Electron And Photon ◽

Surface Bond

Modern surface analysis is based largely upon the use of ionizing radiation to probe the electronic and atomic structure of the surfaces physical and chemical makeup. In many of these studies the ionizing radiation used as the primary probe is found to induce changes in the structure and makeup of the surface, especially when electrons are employed. A number of techniques employ the phenomenon of radiation induced desorption as a means of probing the nature of the surface bond. These include Electron- and Photon-Stimulated Desorption (ESD and PSD) which measure desorbed ionic and neutral species as they leave the surface after the surface has been excited by some incident ionizing particle. There has recently been a great deal of activity in determining the relationship between the nature of chemical bonding and its susceptibility to radiation damage.

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