Acute effects of solar particle event radiation

作者：Ann R. Kennedy, Drew Weissman, Jenine K. Sanzari, Gabriel Krigsfeld, X. Steven Wan, Ana L. Romero-Weaver, Eric S. Diffenderfer, Liyong Lin, Keith A. Cengel · 发表于：Journal of Radiation Research · 年份：2014 · DOI：10.1093/jrr/rrt196 · 被引用次数：8 · 研究领域：Radiation Therapy and Dosimetry、Spaceflight effects on biology、Effects of Radiation Exposure

A major solar particle event (SPE) may place astronauts at significant risk for the acute radiation syndrome (ARS), which may be exacerbated when combined with other space flight stressors, such that the mission or crew health may be compromised. The National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) Center of Acute Radiation Research (CARR) is focused on the assessment of risks of adverse biological effects related to the ARS in animals exposed to space flight stressors combined with the types of radiation expected during an SPE. The CARR studies are focused on the adverse biological effects resulting from exposure to the types of radiation, at the appropriate energies, doses and dose-rates, present during an SPE (and standard reference radiations: gamma rays or electrons). All animal studies described have been approved by the University of PA IACUC. Some conclusions from recent CARR investigations are as follows: (i) the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) values for SPE-like protons compared with standard reference radiations (gammas or electrons) for white blood cells (WBCs) vary greatly between mice, ferrets and pigs, with the RBE values being greater in ferrets than those in mice, and considerably greater in pigs compared with those in ferrets or mice [1, 2]. This trend for the data suggests that the RBE values for WBCs in humans could be considerably greater than those observed in small mammals, and SPE proton radiation may be far more hazardous to humans than p...