Date: 25 March, 1994
NOTES FROM THE QUARTERLY REPORTS FROM PROJECT 48/48A
Medical and Health Divisions Quarterly Reports
October 1947-January 1948:
Hematological Effects of Total Body Irradiation from External and Internal
Sources/B.V.A. Low-Beer: "The objective of this project has been to investigate the
effect of therapeutic doses of ionizing radiations on the blood elements of human
subjects. Patients selected for this study were those whose diseaserequired therapeutic
irradiation of the entire body. The patients were selected for treatment with radiations
and so treated by physiciansonthe staff of the University of California Medical School.
Advantage was taken of the fact that they were being so treated to observe the effects on
their blood picture. The clinical condition was followed by their physicians in the usual
course of events and is not reported here. X-rays produced byelectrical potentials of 100
kv, 200 kv, and 1000 kv were used for external radiation and radioactive phosphorus was
used as a source of internal irradiation. From the inception of the project in October 1942
to June 1946 twenty-nine patients treated with external x-ray irradiation were studied.
Two patients were treated with daily doses of 5 r; 5 patients with 10 r doses; 17 patients
with 20 r doses; 2 patients with 15 r doses; 1 patient with 30 r and 1 patient with 50 r
daily doses. All measurements were made on the skin...
Studies included determinations of hemoglobin, red blood cell count, white blood cell
count, platelet count, differential count, lobation index of polymorphonuclear
neutrophilos, sternal marrow studies, prothrombin time, sedimentation rate, hematocrit
and ictorus index. The observation period extended from oneto three years following
treatment.” (p. 35)
Metabolism & Effects of Radio-Iodine(1 131)/Earl R. Miller: "The purpose ofthe study
of [131 in patients has been primarily to determine harmfuleffects of I!31, acutely and
over a long period of time in humans. In order to know the amountof exposure ofthe
patient to the radiation from the radio-iodine,it is important to study means of
determining uptake of the 113! in the thyroid with the thyroid intactin the patient, and to
study excretion ofI 131,
Urinary excretion of I/31 from patients has been measured in most cases in which
thyroid uptake studies were made in order to determine what portion of the iodine could
be accounted for by thyroid uptake and urinary excretion by our methods, whaterrors
there were in the methods, and whatfraction of the administered 113! was lost by other
routes of excretion or was stored in othersites in the body.
ice
Of
Subjects. A few young doctors on the house staff of the University of
California Hospital, fully cognizant of the dangers, volunteered to serve as normal
controls. A series of patients were studied whose thyroid function was normal, but who
were to have operations on the gland for nodules. This permitted study of the normally
functioning gland as well as of the abnormal nodules. A number of patients were chosen
for study whose pamary disease was hyperthyroidism. The administrationof relatively
large doses of 1131 to these patients, was warranted as a treatmentof their disease. This
wasa particularly valuable group because of the interest of the patient in himself and his
disease and because ofthe interest of the clinician in close laboratory andclinical followup. The last group of subjects were those in which carcinomaof the thyroid was
suspected or proved. It was in this group that the largest numberoftissue studies were
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory
Archives and Records Office
Human Radiation Experiments Search and Retrieval Project
Anna Berge Research Notes
Electronic DocumentTitle: Quarterlies
April 4, 1994
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