Radiation Hormesis and Its Potential to Manage Radiation Injuries

摘要

The term "radiation hormesis" explains stimulatory or beneficial effect of low dose radiation exposure, which cannot be predicted by extrapolation of detrimental or lethal effects of high dose radiation exposure. Although beneficial effects of low doses of radiation were observed soon after discovery of x-rays and radioactivity, studies remained inconclusive until recently, due to (I) inadequate statistical planning of experiments conducted in early part of the 20th century; and (ii) poor dose monitoring.