Abnormal cardiovascular responses induced by localized high power microwave exposure.

A hypothesis of microwave-induced circulatory under perfusion was tested in ketamine anesthetized rats whose heart rate, mean arterial pressure, pulse pressure, respiration rate, and body temperatures were monitored continuously. Fifty-eight ventral head and neck exposures in a waveguide consisted of sham-exposure and exposure to continuous wave (CW) and pulsed 1.25 GHz microwaves for 5 min. The 0.5 Hz (10 microseconds, 2 W average) and 16 Hz (1 microsecond, 6.4 W average) pulse-modulated microwaves were delivered at 400 kW peak power. The CW microwaves were 2 and 6.4 W. The average specific absorption rate was 4.75 W/kg per watt transmitted in the brain and 17.15 W/kg per watt transmitted in the neck. Respiration rate and mean arterial pressure were not altered. Changes in heart rate and pulse pressure were observed in rats exposed to higher power (16 Hz pulses and 6.4 W CW) but not to the lower average power microwaves (0.5 Hz pulses and 2 W CW). Depression of pulse pressure, an indication of a decrease in stroke volume, and increased (tachycardia) or decreased (bradycardia) heart rate were noted in presence of whole-body hyperthermia. The cardiac output of those animals exposed to higher average power microwaves was considered to be below normal as hypothesized. Decreased cardiac output and normal mean arterial pressure resulted in an increase in the total peripheral resistance which was contrary to the anticipated thermal response of animals.

Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation in mice after total lymphoid irradiation: influence of breeding conditions and strain of recipient mice.

Different groups of C57BL/ka or BALB/c mice received a dose of 34 Gy or 42 Gy of fractionated total lymphoid irradiation (TLI) before bone marrow transplantation with 30 X 10(6) BALB/c or C57BL nucleated bone marrow cells, respectively. BALB/c mice that were not bred in specific pathogen-free conditions before TLI showed a high morbidity and mortality rate after 34 Gy of TLI and allogeneic bone marrow transplantation as compared with BALB/c or C57BL that were bred in pathogen-free conditions before irradiation. Many of the conventionally bred BALB/c mice had clinical and histologic signs of graft-vs-host disease after TLI and allogeneic bone marrow infusion. Although leucocytosis and lymphocytosis and the immunologic competence as measured with in vitro tests were equally depressed after 34 Gy TLI in BALB/c and C57BL mice, chimerism was nevertheless significantly easier to obtain in BALB/c mice. The incidence of chimerism after TLI could be enhanced in C57BL mice by increasing the total radiation dose from 34 to 42 Gy. This augmentation of chimerism was paralleled by the induction of more suppressor cells after 42 Gy of TLI in C57BL mice.

Acute exposure to pulsed microwaves affects neither pentylenetetrazol seizures in the rat nor chlordiazepoxide protection against such seizures.

Three experiments failed to provide consistent evidence for an effect of 2.70 GHz pulsed microwave radiation up to 20 mW/cm2 on pentylenetetrazol-induced seizures or on the efficacy of chlordiazepoxide for counteracting such seizures. Microwave radiation counteracted the hypothermic effects of chlordiazepoxide without altering its antiseizure efficacy. This underscores the dissociation between thermal and pharmacological effects of microwaves.

Protection of mice from whole-body gamma radiation by deuteration of drinking water.

Drinking water made available to mice was changed from ordinary tap water to tap water containing 30 atom% D2O when the animals were 6 to 8 weeks old. Twelve days later, the deuterated mice and an approximately equal number of nondeuterated control mice were subjected to whole-body gamma radiation from a 60Co source. All mice received ordinary tap water after the irradiation. Postirradiation mortality was significantly less in deuterated than in nondeuterated animals. These results may have practical implications for radiotherapy of human malignant tumors.

The effect of small radiation doses on the rat spinal cord: the concept of partial tolerance.

To evaluate the tolerance of the rat spinal cord to small radiation doses per fraction, an increasing number of fractions is required for induction of paralysis. The assessment of doses of 1-2 Gy, as used in the clinic, would require that over 100 fractions be given. The validity of replacing part of a fractionated irradiation of the spinal cord by a single large dose has been tested. Fractionated irradiation doses with 18 MeV X rays were followed by a "top-up" dose of 15 Gy as a single treatment. This is the fraction size of a treatment with two irradiation doses leading to paralysis in 50% of the animals (ED 50). Fractionated treatments were carried out with 2, 5, 10 and 20 fractions followed by the top-up dose of 15 Gy. The isoeffect curve, as a function of the number of fractions, has the same slope as experiments performed without top-up dose. The results show that the quality and quantity of cellular repair is not modified when part of a multifractionated exposure is replaced by a larger top-up dose. An important consequence of this finding is, that in treatments with unequal fraction sizes, the partial tolerances can simply be added. Since a top-up dose can replace a sizable number of irradiation treatments, its application will allow investigations of the extent of sublethal damage repair for fraction sizes as low as 1 Gy.