Objective To observe late effect of 60Co radiation accident on eye lens in the victims.Methods Medical observations of eye lens were performed on ten victims accidentally exposed to 60Co sources in four radiation accidents that have occurred from 1986 to 2000 in Henan Province.Pathological changes of the eye lenses were examined by using slit lamp microscopy after mydriasis with compound tropicamide.Results Of these ten victims, Liang in a radiation accident in Kaifeng (in 1986), Mei in Xinxiang (in 1999) and Xu in Xuchang (in 2000) all had typical radiation-induced cataract 2, 3 and 6 years after irradiation, respectively.Follow-up observation of the lens showed the punctate and/or granular opacities present in the eye posterior subcapsular of Yan in Kaifeng accident, Jie in Zhengzhou (1987), and Tian, Yong and Yi in Xinxiang accident, featuring the early changes of radiation-induced cataract, but the posterior subcapsular opacities were not observed in Wang and Min in Xinxiang accident.Conclusions Focus should be on the eye lens as the target organ of radiation exposure in long-term follow-up of victims accidentally exposed to radiation source.Severity of the lens opacity induced by ionizing radiation is closely associated with radiation doses.

Objective To analyze the differences in the clinical characteristics,endoscopy,pathology and therapy between the patients with new onset ulcerative colitis(UC) in the elderly versus youth and middle-aged patients.Methods A review analysis was carried out in the 178 hospitalized patients with UC in Third Hospital of Peking University from 1994 to 2010.The patients were divided into two groups according to the age of onset:UC onset at age of 60 years and older were enrolled in elderly group; UC onset at age less than sixty years were enrolled in youth and middle-aged group.The data of clinical manifestation,endoscopy,pathology,laboratory test,the severity of disease classification and therapy were analyzed and compared between the two groups.Results The elderly group consisted of 21 men and 6 women.The youth and middle-aged group consisted of 83 men and 68 women.The ratio of male was higher in elderly group than in youth and middle-aged group (77.8％ vs.55.0％,P＜0.05).No significant difference in the clinical type of UC was observed (P＞0.05).The ratio of abdominal pain in elderly group was lower than in youth and middle-aged group (44.4％ vs.78.8％,P＜0.05).There were no significant differences in other symptoms,laboratory test and the severity of disease between the two groups (all P＞0.05).The ratio of Grade Ⅰ and Ⅱwas much higher in the elderly than in youth-middle-aged group(70.4％ vs.39.9％,P＜0.05),but the ratio of Grade Ⅲ and Ⅳ was much lower in the elderly than in youth-middle group(29.6％ vs.60.1％,P＜0.05).No significant differences between the two groups were found in the extent of disease,pathological characteristics and therapy (all P＞0.05).Conclusions Compared with the youth and middle-aged patients with onset UC,the ratio of male patients was higher,the ratio of abdominal pain was lower,and the severity of endoscopic manifestation was less in the elderly patients with onset UC.

Objective:To investigate the late effects induced by external ionizing radiation through long-term follow-up of the victims exposed to 60Co radiation source at " 4.26" accident in Henan in 1999, and to provide valuable experience in the radiological medicine. Methods:Medical observations of the clinical symptoms, signs, eye lens examination and previous medical history of the five exposed victims were performed and recorded. The changes of the laboratory routine examinations, immune function, thyroid function, reproductive hormone levels, tumor markers, radiation genetic indicators as well as ultrasound examination of thyroid, cardiac, reproductive system, electrocardiogram, chest CT were systematically reviewed.Results:The typical radiation-induced cataract was found in " Mei" 2-3 years after 60Co accidental irradiation. 13 years after irradiation, the cataract surgery and intraocular lens implantation in left eye were performed followed by the same operation in right eye in November 2019. Different degrees phacoscotasmus under the posterior capsule or equatorial part of the eyes were also found in the rest of victims. ECG result of " Mei" indicated myocardial ischemia 7 years after accident. " Tian" confirmed diagnosis coronary heart disease 12 years after irradiation, and the surgery about coronary angiography heart stent implantation was taken at 20 years after irradiation. Five victims showed increased serum total cholesterol and/or triglycerides, and 4 victims showed bilateral or unilateral common carotid atherosclerotic plaque formation. Higher levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) were observed in " Mei" at 11 years after the irradiation. The thyroglobulin antibody (TGA)and thyroid microsomal antibody (TMA) were obviously increased in " Yi" , accompanied by thyroid uneven found by ultrasound. The thyroid nodules in " Mei" and " Min" were observed at 15 years after irradiation. The diagnosis of diffuse large B cell lymphoma(DLBL) in " Tian" was confirmed at 13 years after irradiation. Slightly higher of Neuron-specific enolase(NSE) were found in " Tian" , " Min" and " Yi" . A small nodule was detected from chest CT of " Tian" . Most of the chromosome aberrations observed in peripheral blood lymphocytes from the victims were stable chromosomal aberration such as translocation (t) with a few dicentric chromosome (dic) and acentric fragment (ace) in " Wang" and " Tian" . Conclusions:Ionizing radiation can cause variable degrees of deterministic effects in lens, thyroid gland and cardiovascular circulatory system and stochastic effects such as neoplasm. The genetic damages will last long in the patients.

Objective:To explore the feasibility of using a High-Throughput Chromosome Automatic Scanning System (Metafer 4) to carry out automatic micronucleus detection for radiation workers.Methods:A total of 2 005 radiation workers selected were divided into five groups in terms of diagnostic radiology, radiotherapy, nuclear medicine, interventional radiology and industrial application.The Metafer 4 was used to assay micronuclei in peripheral blood lymphocytes from the subjects, with the factors affecting micronuclei analyzed. A total of 200 micronucleus samples collected by stratified random sampling were manually assayed for comparison of micronuclei frequency and detection efficiency between automatic and manual analysis.Results:The mean micronuclei frequency in 2 005 radiation workers were measured to be (0.92±0.02) ×10 -3. There was significant difference in the frequencies of micronuclei among the five groups ( χ2=11.054, P<0.05), with higher micronuclei frequency in interventional radiology group(1.00±0.03) ×10 -3 than in other groups ( χ2=5.568, 5.334, 7.689, P<0.05). Statistically significant difference could be observed in annual effective dose, length of service and micronuclei frequency among the radiation workers in different medical applications ( F=3.026, χ2=11.582, 8.878, P<0.05). A positive correlation between annual effective dose and micronucleus frequency was shown by Pearson analysis ( r=0.106, P<0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that the automatic assay-based micronuclei frequencies were associated with length of service and work categories( r=9.485×10 -6, 5.660×10 -5, P<0.05), significantly lower when compared with manual analysis ( χ2=169.259, P<0.05). There was a consistency (ICC=0.713, P<0.05) between the two assay methods, but automatic analysis can increase the assayed micronucleus frequency by about 5 folds. Conclusions:The micronucleus frequency tested by automatic detection reflects genetic damage from low-dose chronic radiation exposure, and there may be feasibility of using automatic analysis to assay micronucleus of radiation workers.

Objective:To explore the advantage of dose estimation based on semi-automated dicentric (dic) scoring and the feasibility of reflecting a large scale radiation accident for population clinical triage by mean of the comparison between semi-automatic and manual detection.Methods:Human peripheral blood samples from two healthy volunteers were irradiated by 60Co γ-rays at the doses of 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 Gy with a dose rate of 0.27 Gy/min, and chromosome preparation was carried out using the conventional method. The dic and dic plus ring were analyzed automatically with the DCScore software and manually with the Ikaros software, respectively, in a high-throughput chromosome automatic scanning system. The dose-response curves were fitted with dic or dic plus ring per cell. Twelve standard samples of biodosimetry were used to validate the dose-response curves. Results:The numbers of dic or dic plus ring per cell by semi-automatic or manual detection increased with the exposure doses ( r=0.984, 0.972, 0.972, P<0.01). The yields of semi-automated dic or manually detected dic plus ring were well fitted with the correlation coefficients ( R2=0.998, 0.999, 0.999, P<0.01). When the exposure dose of the standard samples was more than 2 Gy, the relative deviation between actual and predict doses was within 21% using the dose-response curve based on automated dic before human verification and correction of dic (elimination of false positives and inclusion of true positives), and wiht ±10% after manual elimination of false positive dic. Bio-doses estimated from the dic detected by manual scoring were similar to the actual exposure doses with the exception of 0.7 Gy, but the efficiency of semi-automatic analysis of dic was increased by 6-times in bio-dose assessment. Conclusions:The semi-automated dic detection obviously improves the level and efficiency of biodosimetry analysis, and thus can meet the requirements of clinical classification diagnosis of medical emergency response to large-scale nuclear radiation events.

The application of chromosome translocation to retrospective biodosimetry for A-bomb survivors, the victims previously exposed to nuclear/ radiation accident has experienced nearly 40 years of development. Retrospective biodosimetry was internationally paid close attention to radiation workers, exposed atomic veterans and medical exposure subjects, respectively, along with the development of molecular cytogenetic technology such as mFISH and cGH. And the remarkable breakthrough and progress have been made in recent years. This paper reviews the progress of translocation indicator as retrospective biodosimetry for the subjects, in order to provide a reference for retrospective dose estimation based on translocation analysis.

OBJECTIVETo measure peripheral serum levels of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) and matrix metalloproteinase 19 (MMP19) in patients with pneumoconiosis, and to investigate their feasibility as potential biomarkers for pneumoconiosis.

METHODSNinety-eight male patients with pneumoconiosis (49 patients in phase I, 36 patients in phase II, and 13 patients in phase III) were enrolled as subjects, which included 41 patients with silicosis and 57 patients with coal workers' pneumoconiosis. Ninety-eight healthy male physical examinees were used as controls. A fasting blood sample (3 ml) was collected from the peripheral venous blood of each patient or control, and the serum was separated from the blood sample. The expression levels of MMP9 and MMP19 in serum were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

RESULTSSerum levels of MMP9 and MMP19 in patients with silicosis or coal workers' pneumoconiosis were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). Serum levels of MMP19 in patients with silicosis were significantly higher than those in patients with coal workers' pneumoconiosis (P < 0.05). Serum levels of MMP19 in patients exposed to dust for less than 7 years were significantly higher than those in patients exposed to dust for more than 20 years (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in serum levels of MMP9 and MMP19 between patients with different levels of pulmonary function impairment (P > 0.05). Serum expression levels of MMP9 and MMP19 were positively correlated with each other in both patients with pneumoconiosis and those in the control group (P < 0.05). The serum expression level of MMP9 was negatively correlated with the stage of pneumoconiosis (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSerum MMP9 and MMP19 may be used as potential biomarkers for pneumoconiosis.

Anthracosis ; enzymology ; Biomarkers ; Coal Mining ; Dust ; Humans ; Lung ; Male ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 ; blood ; Matrix Metalloproteinases, Secreted ; blood ; Occupational Exposure ; Pneumoconiosis ; blood ; enzymology ; Silicosis ; enzymology

Objective To understand effects of the interventional operation on thyroid,peripheral blood indexes and chromosomal aberrations (CA) of peripheral lymphocyte of children with congenital heart disease (CHD).Methods Follow-up studies were conducted in 70 child patients undergoing cardiac catheterization and 23 with open heart surgery as control from 2010 to 2013.Postoperative follow-up examinations included thyroid ultrasound,blood routine indexes and analyses of CAs.Results Difference in thyroid ultrasound abnormality rate was not statistically significant between children with cardiac catheterization and control group (40.0％ vs.43.5％,P ＞ 0.05).There was no significant difference in white blood cell (WBC) count between interventional group and control group (P ＞ 0.05).The effects of disease type and operation time on thyroid ultrasound and WBC count were not observed (P ＞ 0.05).The frequency of chromosome aberrations,including acentric fragment,dicentrics and translocation in interventional group [(0.76 ± 0.07) ％],was higher than in control group [(0.25 ± 0.07) ％,(Z =-3.631,P ＜ 0.05],and the rates of acentric fragment and translocation were also higher in interventional group (Z =-2.531,-2.397,P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions Effect of intervention therapy on thyroid structure and WBC count in children with CHD was not observed,but the genotoxic effects remain in children with cardiac catheterization.

Objective To explore the influence of long-term low-dose ionizing radiation on 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine(8-OHdG) level in the serum of radiation workers in hospitals.Methods 307 age-and sex-matched hospital radiation workers were recruited by stratified random sampling method.After deleting the subjects without dosage information,230 individuals were divided into four groups according to their job title [including diagnostic radiology (n =75),radiotherapy (n =60),nuclear medicine (n =41) and interventional radiology (n =54)].Serum 8-OHdG level was measured by ELISA assay.Results According to the statistical analysis,there was significant difference in the serum 8-OHdG level among four groups (F =9.071,P ＜ 0.05),and the content of serum 8-OHdG was significantly higher in the interventional radiology group than that in the groups of diagnostic radiology,radiotherapy and nuclear medicine (t =-4.473,-3.011,-2.189,P ＜ 0.05).There were significant differences in serum 8-OHdG level among different dose groups and working period groups(F =7.659,3.058,P ＜ 0.05).The serum 8-OHdG levels significantly increased along with exposure dose and working period (r =0.300,0.142,P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions Serum 8-OHdG may be a potential biomarker of oxidative DNA damage in radiation workers exposed to low-dose ionizing radiation.

Long-term exposure to low dose ionizing radiation contributes to the damage of radiosensitive tissue and organ in radiation workers.The main cytogenetic index used to evaluate radiation damage induced by chronic low dose ionizing radiation is the chromosome aberrations of peripheral blood lymphocytes.In this paper,the cytogenetic evaluation indicators of radiation workers exposed to low dose ionizing radiation were reviewed basing on the research achievements of domestic and foreign scholars.The goals of this review were to supply the present situation and limitation of chromosomal aberration analysis in peripheral blood lymphocytes of radiation workers and to provide a reference for the chromosomal aberration test and assessment of radiation workers in China.