[Surprising results from Hiroshima studies]. / Les leçons inattendues d'Hiroshima - Chroniques génomiques.

One of the initial motivations for the Genome project was to improve the detection of possible mutations in children of atomic bomb survivors. In fact it has proved very difficult to find any genetic effect in these descendants in spite of the strong irradiation suffered by their parents: this factual evidence is largely ignored in the current debates about the effects of radiation and the future of nuclear energy. Sequencing studies on this population would be very desirable.

SCAI consensus document on occupational radiation exposure to the pregnant cardiologist and technical personnel.

Concerns regarding radiation exposure and its effects during pregnancy are often quoted as an important barrier preventing many women from pursuing a career in Interventional Cardiology. Finding the true risk of radiation exposure from performing cardiac catheterisation procedures can be challenging and guidelines for pregnancy exposure have been inadequate. The Women in Innovations group of Cardiologists with endorsement of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions aim to provide guidance in this publication by describing the risk of radiation exposure to pregnant physicians and cardiac catheterisation personnel, to educate on appropriate radiation monitoring and to encourage mechanisms to reduce radiation exposure. Current data do not suggest a significant increased risk to the fetus of pregnant women in the cardiac catheterisation laboratory and thus do not justify precluding pregnant physicians from performing procedures in the cardiac catheterisation laboratory. However, radiation exposure among pregnant physicians should be properly monitored and adequate radiation safety measures are still warranted.

Susceptibility to the induction of glutathione S-transferase positive hepatic foci in offspring rats after gamma-ray exposure during gestation.

Glutathion S-transferase positive (GST-P+) hepatic foci development was used as a means of determining whether the offspring of gestating maternal rats, which were subjected to genetically-damaging levels of gamma-ray radiation, were more susceptible to the development of cancer after treatment with diethylnitrosamine (DEN), a known carcinogen. A single dose of 10, 30, 60, and 90 rads involving whole body exposure to gamma-rays was given to pregnant rats at day 14, and during postnatal week 4. DEN was intraperitoneally injected to their offspring twice in one week. Thirteen weeks after birth, the rats were sacrificed. Irradiation of maternal rats with 30 rad gamma-rays before mating significantly increased both the incidence and the size of GST-P+ foci in the livers of both male and female pups, when combined with DEN treatment, whereas other dose levels had no such effect. Using a rat-liver model, the results of this study indicate that a low dose of radiation during the embryonic stage increases the susceptibility to carcinogens. In addition, under certain circumstances low doses of radiation, an externally applied cancer-inducing stimulus, may increase the likelihood of cancer, whereas higher doses may not.