ones remarkably at the c ritical stage.
Though the curves of
erythrocytes and platelets lay on normal Japanese ones after 2 years,
the curve of leukocytes still displaced slightly to the left of normal
one even after 6 years.
4.
Cytogenetics
Follow-up of chromosome observations in blood cells has been
performed since 1964.
Even 20 years after exposure, cells with
chromosome abnormalities (both Cu and Cs cells) exist in the
peripheral lymphocytes with much higher frequencies than in general
population.
The frequency of Cu cells (dicentrics+rings), however,
was decreasing.
On the other hand, Cs cells remained fairly constant
in the frequency of around 2%.
The frequencies of the chromosome
abnormalities were found to be corresponding to the severity of injuries
indicated by minimum leukocytes count at the critical stage.
In the
bone marrow, cells with chromosome abnormalities (Cs cells)
occurred rather constantly with frequencies of more than 2% in all the
4 times of samplings carried out 13-17 years after exposure.
5.
Spermatopoiesis
Number of spermatozoa decreased about 2 months after exposure,
and azoospermia was found.
Both fall of motility and morphological
abnormalities of spermatozoa were also observed.
Indications of
recovery were noticed about 2 years after exposure.
Then most of
the patients got healthy children.
The testicle of the fatal case, which died 206 days after exposure,
showed extremely reduced spermatopoiesis.
6.
Other findings
Slight disturbances of the liver function were found in a few cases
at the time of hospitalization.
Later it became more obvious.
One of
the fishermen, who revealed remarkable hematological disturbances,
died from liver damage.
During follow-up studies elevated values of
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