title: Low dose radiation therapy (LD-RT) is effective in the treatment of arthritis: animal model findings.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This paper provides a critical assessment of the hypothesis that low doses of ionizing radiation may be potentially effective in the treatment of inflammatory conditions, with particular focus on arthritis.
  
  
  METHODS
  A critical review of the biomedical literature was undertaken to assess whether low doses of ionizing radiation may affect the progression of experimentally-induced arthritis using multiple animal models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The findings indicate that low doses of ionizing radiation were effective in alleviating the occurrence of clinical symptoms of arthritis in five complementary experimental models of arthritis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Consistent findings by multiple research groups indicate that low doses of ionizing radiation can be highly effective in reducing a broad range of arthritic changes in multiple animal models in a manner quantitatively similar to that of well known pharmaceutical agents.
authors.affiliation: University of Massachusetts, Public Health (EHS), Morrill I, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, USA. edwardc@schoolph.umass.edu
authors.forename: Edward J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Calabrese
authors.forename: Vittorio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Calabrese
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001168:Arthritis / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage