New strategies for the prevention of radiation injury: possible implications for countering radiation hazards of long-term space travel.
New strategies for the prevention of radiation injuries are currently being explored with the ultimate aim of developing globally radioprotective, nontoxic pharmacologics. The prophylactic treatments under review encompass such diverse pharmacologic classes as novel immunomodulators, nutritional antioxidants, and cytokines. An immunomodulator that shows promise is 5-androstenediol (AED), a well-tolerated, long-acting androstene steroid with broad-spectrum radioprotective attributes that include not only protection against acute tissue injury, but also reduced susceptibility to infectious agents, as well as reduced rates of neoplastic transformation. Other potentially useful radioprotectants currently under study include the nutraceutical vitamin E and analogs, a chemically-engineered cytokine, interleukin-1beta, and a sustained-release formulation of an aminothiol, amifostine. Results suggest that a new paradigm is evolving for the prophylaxes of radiation injuries, based on use of newly identified, nontoxic, broad-spectrum prophylactic agents whose protective action may be leveraged by subsequent postexposure use of cytokines with organ-specific reparative functions.
Seed
Thomas
T
Radiation Casualty Management, Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, Bethesda, MD 20889-5603, USA. seed@afrri.usuhs.mil
Kumar
Sree
S
Whitnall
Mark
M
Srinivasan
Venkataraman
V
Singh
Vijay
V
Elliott
Thomas
T
Landauer
Michael
M
Miller
Alexandra
A
Chang
Cheng-Min
CM
Inal
Cyndi
C
Deen
Jason
J
Gehlhaus
Martin
M
Jackson
William
W
Hilyard
Edward
E
Pendergrass
James
J
Toles
Raymond
R
Villa
Vilmar
V
Miner
Venita
V
Stewart
Michael
M
Benjack
James
J
Danilenko
Dimitry
D
Farrell
Ckatherine
C
D000818:Animals; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D011315:Preventive Medicine / Q000379:methods; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011837:Radiation-Protective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013026:Space Flight; D013997:Time Factors
D011837:Radiation-Protective Agents