CHANGES IN FUNCTION AND MORPHOLOGY IN A NUMBER OF ORGANS AND SYSTEMS OF MAN AND ANIMALS UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF LARGE AND SMALL DOSES OF IONIZING RADIATION
8 8 7 = = 9 9 = : 6 8 7 8 : 9tory, and digestive systems were clinically and experimentally investigated. (1) Nervous system. Electroencephalography carried out on 20 patients who were irradiated to the head in doses of 4000 to 7000 r for the treatment of malignant conditions of the scalp showed the presence of delta waves of 0.4 to 0.8 sec duration, reduction in the amplitude of the biopotentials, asymmetry of the hemispheres, and occasionally respiratory and cardiac rhythms. These changes were most marked 24 hours after irradiation and had partly returned to normal after 10 days. Thirty persons suffering from the effects of occupational exposure to ionizing radiation were also studied; the electroencephalograms showed a predominance of rapid potentials indicating excitatory processes (7 patients), low amplitudes, and slow rhythms indicating inhibition (11), or did not differ signiflcantly from normal (11 patients). Electroencephalography carried out on 40 rabbits in which severe acute radiation sickness had been produced showed a reduction in amplitudes during the iirst few hours after irradiation, with slow waves of duration 0.3 to 0.25 sec. Histologically there was damage to the posterior root ganglia (chromatolysis of neurones) and sensory tracts (varicosity of the axons and vacuolation of the myelin sheaths). After 3 to 7 days there were motor disturbances (salivation, lacrimation, diarrhoea) and tachyrhythmia in the electroencephalogram. Death occurred after 7 to 13 days, and in the later stages the electroencephalographic changes showed some tendency to normalization. In 2 rabbits which recovered and were examined 9 months after irradiation, the cerebral cortex contained areas where the cells were shrunken and hyperchromatic, or showed hydropic dystrophia with chromatolysis and karyocytolysis. Similar appearances were found in 11 dogs which had survived radiation sickness as the result of intensive treatment. Studies with radioactive methionine carried out in 30 white rats subjected to 200 to 800 r showed that incorporation into the brain was first accelerated and then depressed. The results of the studies indicate that the central nervous system is very sensitive to ionizing radiation and shows evidence of damage almost immediately. (2) Digestive system. Complex radiological and patholog- cal investigations were carried out on dogs and rats suffering from acute radiation sickness. During the first 24 hours after irradiation the stomach in dogs showed delayed emptying and loss of tone. The contrast medium did not disappear from the stomach and small intestine until the fourth day. A similar effect was noted in rabbits. Autopsy carried out after 72 hours revealed paralytic distension of the stomach, with vacuolation of the myelin sheaths and varicosity and fragmentation of the axons in the intramural nerve plexuses. There was vascular engorgement in the gastrointestinal tract and liver. In irradiated rats the uptake of labeled methionine was increased during the first 3 hours after irradiation; after 6 hours it declined but still remained higher than control values. (3) Heart and cardiac innervation. In patients receiving a dose of 5000 to 10,000 r from a cobalt source to the head for the treatment of malignant conditions of the scalp, there was some reduction in the amplitude of the auricular contractions and a prolongation of systole 4 to 5 days after irradiation. There was a reduction in voltage and deformation of the QRS complex and the T wave. The changes all reverted to normal 10 to 15 days after the end of irradiation. Among 40 persons suffering from the effects of occupational exposure to irradiation, 19 showed enlargement of the heart, reduction in the amplitude of the auricular beat was noted in 12 and blunting of the auricular waves in 9; sinus arrhythmia was present in 12, reduction of the T wave in 5 and absence in 6. In rabbits receiving irradiation to the skull in a dose
- Research Organization:
- Originating Research Org. not identified
- NSA Number:
- NSA-17-030441
- OSTI ID:
- 4685494
- Journal Information:
- Vop. Radiobiol., Akad. Nauk Arm. SSR, Sektor Radiobiol., Sb. Tr., Vol. Vol: 1; Other Information: Orig. Receipt Date: 31-DEC-63
- Country of Publication:
- Country unknown/Code not available
- Language:
- English
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AMINO ACIDS
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