Ear Diseases ; etiology ; Humans ; Radiation Injuries

No abstract available.
Humans ; Radiation Injuries/etiology ; Radiation, Ionizing ; Radiotherapy Dosage ; *Societies, Scientific

International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), an independent international organization established in 1925, develops, maintains, and elaborates radiological protection standards, legislation, and guidelines. United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) provides scientific evidence. World Health Organization (WHO) and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) utilise the ICRP recommendations to implement radiation protection in practice. Finally, radiation protection agencies in each country adopt the policies, and adapt them to each situation. In Korea, Nuclear Safety and Security Commission is the governmental body for nuclear safety regulation and Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety is a public organization for technical support and R&D in nuclear safety and radiation protection.
History, 20th Century ; Humans ; International Agencies/*organization & administration ; Radiation Injuries/etiology/prevention & control ; Radiation Protection/history/*legislation & jurisprudence ; Radiation, Ionizing

BACKGROUNDIrradiation dose and volume are the major physical factors of radiation-induced lung injury. The study investigated the relationships between the irradiation dose and volume in radiation-induced lung injury by setting up a model of graded volume irradiation of the rat lung.

METHODSAnimals were randomly assigned to three groups. The ELEKTA precise 2.03 treatment plan system was applied to calculate the irradiation dose and volume. The treatment plan for the three groups was: group 1 received a "high dose to a small volume" (25% volume group) with the mean irradiation volume being 1.748 cm(3) (25% lung volume); the total dose and mean lung dose (MLD) were 4610 cGy and 2006 cGy, respectively (bilateral AP-PA fields, source to axis distance (SAD) = 100 cm, 6MVX, single irradiation); Group 2 received a "low dose to a large volume" (100% volume group) with the mean irradiation volume being 6.99 cm(3) (100% lung volume); the total dose was 1153 cGy. MLD was 2006 cGy, which was the same as that of group 1 (bilateral AP-PA fields, SAD = 100 cm, 6MVX, single irradiation); Group 3 was a control group. With the exception of receiving no irradiation, group 3 had rest steps that were the same as those of the experimental groups. After irradiation, functional, histopathological, and CT changes were compared every two weeks till the 16th week.

RESULTSFunctionally, after irradiation breath rate (BR) increases were observed in both group 1 and group 2, especially during the period of 6th - 8th weeks. The changes of BR in the 100% volume group were earlier and faster. For the 25% volume group, although pathology was more severe, hardly any obvious increase in BR was observed. Radiographic changes were observed during the early period (the 4th week) and the most obvious changes manifested during the mediated period (the 8th week). The extensiveness of high density and the decreased lung permeability were presented in the 100% volume group, and ground glass opacity and patchy consolidation were presented in the 25% volume group without pleural effusion, pleural thickening, and lung shrinking. Morphologically, the 100% volume group mainly presented signs of vascular damage, including signs of vascular wall edemas, hypertrophy, and sclerosis. The 25% volume group mainly presented with erythrocyte cell exudation, inflammation, and parenchymal damage.

CONCLUSIONSThe delivery of a small dose of radiation to a large volume is not safe. A low dose smeared out over large volumes, albeit reversible, may lead to fatal respiratory dysfunction. Damage to the lung may be more dependent on the volume of irradiation than on the radiation dose. Clinically, the safest approach is to limit both the volume of the irradiated normal lung and the amount of received radiation.

Animals ; Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation ; Lung ; radiation effects ; Lung Injury ; etiology ; Radiation Injuries, Experimental ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

Radiation-induced lung injury (RILI), including acute radiation pneumonitis and chronic radiation-induced pulmonary fibrosis (RIPF), is a side effect of radiotherapy for lung cancer and esophageal cancer. Pulmonary macrophages, as a kind of natural immune cells maintaining lung homeostasis, play a key role in the whole pathological process of RILI. In the early stage of RILI, classically activated M1 macrophages secrete proinflammatory cytokines to induce inflammation and produce massive reactive oxygen species (ROS) through ROS-induced cascade to further impair lung tissue. In the later stage of RILI, alternatively activated M2 macrophages secrete profibrotic cytokines to promote the development of RIPF. The roles of macrophage in the pathogenesis of RILI and the related potential clinical applications are summarized in this review.
Humans ; Lung/radiation effects* ; Lung Injury/physiopathology* ; Macrophages/metabolism* ; Radiation Injuries ; Radiation Pneumonitis/etiology* ; Radiotherapy/adverse effects*

No abstract available.
DNA Breaks, Double-Stranded/radiation effects ; Humans ; Radiation Injuries/*etiology ; Radiation Protection/instrumentation ; Radiation, Ionizing ; Radiotherapy Dosage ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Chernobyl Nuclear Accident ; Humans ; Japan ; epidemiology ; Neoplasms, Radiation-Induced ; etiology ; mortality ; Nuclear Warfare ; Radiation Dosage ; Radiation Injuries ; etiology ; mortality ; Radioactive Hazard Release ; Risk ; Ukraine ; epidemiology

After the rapid development of medical equipment including CT or PET-CT, radiation doses from medical exposure are now the largest source of man-made radiation exposure. General principles of radiation protection from the hazard of ionizing radiation are summarized as three key words; justification, optimization, and dose limit. Because medical exposure of radiation has unique considerations, diagnostic reference level is generally used as a reference value, instead of dose limits. In Korea, medical radiation exposure has increased rapidly. For medical radiation exposure control, Korea has two separate control systems. Regulation is essential to control medical radiation exposure. Physicians and radiologists must be aware of the radiation risks and benefits associated with medical exposure, and understand and implement the principles of radiation protection for patients. The education of the referring physicians and radiologists is also important.
Guidelines as Topic ; Humans ; International Agencies ; *Occupational Exposure ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Radiation Injuries/etiology/prevention & control ; *Radiation Protection ; Radiation, Ionizing ; Radiotherapy Dosage/standards ; Reference Values ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

OBJECTIVETo assess the radioactive damage induced by interstitial 125I seed implantation to the rabbit urethra.

METHODSWe implanted 24 rabbits with 125I seeds 1.0 cm to the urethra at the radiation dose of 14.8 MBq (Group A), 29.6 MBq (Group B) and 44.4 MBq (Group C), while a non-radioactive seed was implanted near the urethra of the controls (Group D). Four weeks later, we detected the radiation-induced pathological and morphological changes in the urethra by H&E, light microscopy and electron microscopy.

RESULTSFour weeks after the implantation, no obvious histopathological and ultrastructural changes were observed in the urethral tissues of the experimental rabbits as compared with the control group. The scores on the radioactive damages to the urethra obtained by light microscopy were (2.20 +/- 0.18), (2.23 +/- 0.15), (2.27 +/- 0.10) and (2.10 +/- 0.17) respectively in Group A, B, C and D, with no significant differences between the first three groups and the control (P > 0.05). And the scores on the FlaMeng semi- quantitative analysis of mitochondria in the experimental groups were (1.23 +/- 0.13), (1.34 +/- 0.25) and (1.41 +/- 0.30) respectively, not significantly different from (1.12 +/- 0.13) the control (P > 0. 05).

CONCLUSIONThe radioactive damage induced by 125I seeds to the urethra increases with the enhanced radiation dose. Intraoperative implantation of 125I seeds at the prescription dose has no obvious adverse effect on the rabbit urethra.

Animals ; Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation ; Iodine Radioisotopes ; adverse effects ; Male ; Microscopy, Electron ; Rabbits ; Radiation Injuries, Experimental ; etiology ; pathology ; Urethra ; pathology ; radiation effects ; ultrastructure

OBJECTIVETo assess the relative standardization of acupuncture protocols for radiation-induced xerostomia.

METHODSA literature search was carried out up to November 10, 2012 in the databases PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE and China National Knowledge Infrastruction with the terms: radiation-induced xerostomia, acupuncture, acupuncture treatment, and acupuncture therapy. Five ancient Chinese classic acupuncture works were also reviewed with the keywords "dry mouth, thirst, dry tongue, dry eyes and dry lips" to search the effective acupuncture points for dry mouth-associated symptoms in ancient China.

RESULTSTwenty-two full-text articles relevant to acupuncture treatment for radiation-induced xerostomia were included and a total of 48 acupuncture points were searched in the 5 ancient Chinese classic acupuncture works, in which the most commonly used points were Chengjiang (CV24), Shuigou (GV 26), Duiduan (GV 27), Jinjin (EX-HN 12), and Yuye (EX-HN 13) on head and neck, Sanjian (LI 3), Shangyang (LI 1), Shaoshang (LU 11), Shaoze (SI 1), Xialian (LI 8) on hand, Fuliu (KI 7), Dazhong (KI 4), Zuqiaoyin (GB 44), Taichong (LR 3), Zhaohai (KI 6) on foot, Burong (ST 19), Zhangmen (LR 13), Tiantu (CV 22), Qimen (LR 14) on abdomen, Feishu (BL 13), Danshu (BL 19), Xiaochaogshu (BL 27), Ganshu (BL 18) on back, Shenmen (TF 4), Shen (CO10, Kidney), Yidan (CO11, Pancreas) and Pi (CO13, Spleen) on ear.

CONCLUSIONThere were considerable heterogeneities in the current acupuncture treatment protocols for radiation-induced xerostomia. Based on the results of the review and the personal perspectives, the authors provide a recommendation for manual acupuncture protocols in treating radiationinduced xerostomia patients with head and neck cancer.

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; standards ; Humans ; Radiation Injuries ; complications ; Reference Standards ; Xerostomia ; etiology ; therapy