Mitigation of normal tissue radiation injury: evidence from rat radiation nephropathy models

摘要

Normal tissue radiation injury is a common complication of radiation therapy and is also a major concern after accidental or belligerent radiation exposure, and until recently, it was deemed unbeatable. Both experimental and clinical evidence now show that radiation injury can be alleviated by agents started after irradiation but before manifestation of that injury (a therapeutic approach called "mitigation"). Mitigation of normal tissue injuries would improve clinical radiation therapy, and it will be an essential medical counter-measure for accidental or belligerent radiation exposures. In rat radiation nephropathy models over 30 potential mitigators have been tested, some (e.g., angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers) have been found to be quite effective, but many others appear ineffective, and a few have actually made injury worse.