Reprinted from Diagnosis and treatment of acute radiation injury, 1961, Geneva, World
Health Organization, pp. 151-164.
401883
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ACUTE RADIATION EFFECTS ON MAN
REVEALED BY UNEXPECTED EXPOSURES *
SvEN-AGE KILLMANN,! EuGEeNE P. CRONKITE,?
Victor P. BOND! & Tueopor M. FLIEDNER!
clarifying the possible indications for bone marrow transplantation in
the treatment of radiation injury. A conservative therapeutic programme
which has been used successfully in irradiated dogs will also be discussed.
Amongthe recently proposed biological dosimeters of radiation injury
are the urinary excretion of B-aminoisobutyric acid (BAIBA) (Rubinietal.,
Excretion of 8-Aminoisobutyric Acid
BAIBAis an amino-acid which has been known for about 10 years. Its
origin and excretion under normal and pathological conditions have been
reviewed recently (Kijlmann et al., 1961 b). The sources of BAIBA and the
pathways leading to its formation have been extensively studied by Fink et
al. (1952, 1956). Their work indicates the existence of the following pathway : thymine—dihydrothymine—-f-ureidoisobutyric acid>BAIBA. BAIBA
arises not only from thymine but also from thymidine and from DNA.
Many other pyrimidines have been investigated but none has been found
which is metabolized to BAIBA.
In swine, valine may be a precursor of |
* Research supported by the United States Atomic Energy Commission, Washington, D.C., USA.
1 Medical Research Center, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, Long Island, New York, USA.
— 15] —
The Medical Researeh Center
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Upton, L. L, New York
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1959) and the mitotic index of the bone marrow (Fliedneretal., 1959).
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It is the purpose of this paper to review some laboratory procedures that
have recently been proposed as biological dosimeters of acute radiation
injury. The development of biological dosimeters is important not only
from a prognostic point of view, but also because they may be of help in
ai:
By tradition—and perhaps for simplicity—the acute radiation syndrome
is subdivided into the central nervous system syndrome, the gastrointestinal
_ syndrome, and the haemopoietic syndrome. Only the last of these will be
considered here.
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