What does radiation biology tell us about potential health effects at low dose and low dose rates?

The health risks to humans exposed to low dose and low dose rate ionising radiation remain ambiguous
and are the subject of debate. The need to establish risk assessment standards based on the
mechanisms underlying low dose/low fluence radiation exposures has been recognised by scholarly and
regulatory bodies as critical for reducing the uncertainty in predicting adverse health risks of
human exposure to low doses of radiation. Here, a brief review of laboratory-based evidence of
molecular and biochemical changes induced by low doses and low dose rates of radiation is presented.
In particular, two phenomena, namely bystander effects and adaptive responses that may impact
low-level radiation health risks, are discussed together with the need for further studies. The
expansion of this knowledge by considering the important variables that affect the radiation
response (e.g. genetic susceptibility, time after exposure), and using the latest advances in
experimental models and bioinf...

Source: Journal of Radiological Protection - September 25, 2019 Category: Physics Authors: Edouard I Azzam Source Type: research