Behavioral Radioprotection

Pages 73-78. Figure. References. Discoloration at top of first page where label has been removed. Topics covered include Introduction, Radiation-Induced Performance Decrement, Behavioral Radioprotector Categories, Direct Attenuators, Incidental Attenuators, Anti-Emetics, Discussion, Acknowledgments, and References. There is one figure: The two-edged sword representing the potential dual effect of behavioral radioprotectors. The search for behavioral radioprotectors is a scientific enigma, because protectors against performance decrement (PD) also can be behaviorally toxic at the dose levels necessary to be effective against lethality. Apparently this paper was delivered at a symposium. Symposium Editors were J. F. Weiss and M. G. Simic. The search for chemical radioprotectors has been in progress for over 30 years (Giambarresi and Jacobs, 1987). In the past the aims of the search were to develop drugs that reduce lethality in addition to their use in clinical radiotherapy. Recently, interest expanded to include the ability of drugs to prevent radiation-induced behavioral disruption and performance decrement (PD). This interest has special meaning because animal lethality data and clinical findings indicate that radioprotectors are behaviorally toxic at therapeutic doses (Bogo et al., 1985). This paper is an overview of the behavioral toxicity of clinical radioprotectors, the ability of protectors to attenuate radiation-induced PD and the problems in behavioral radioprotection research. Contemporary article reprint, possibly from Pergamon Press plc. …