Mental health consequences of the Chernobyl disaster.

Author: Bromet EJ.

Reference: J Radiol Prot. 2012, 32 (1): N71–75.

Association between dementia and midlife risk factors: the radiation effects research foundation adult health study

Author: M. Yamada, F. Kasagi, H. Sasaki et al.

Reference:  J. Am. Geriatr. Soc. — 2003. — Vol. 51, № 3. — P. 410–414.

Keywords: vascular dementia,  Alzheimer’s disease, Hiroshima

Abstract: OBJECTIVES: To investigate the association between midlife risk factors and the development of vascular dementia (VaD) or Alzheimer’s disease (AD) 25 to 30 years later.

DESIGN: A prevalence study within a longitudinal cohort study.

SETTING: Subjects in the Adult Health Study (a prospective cohort study begun in 1958) have been followed through biennial medical examinations in Hiroshima, Japan.

PARTICIPANTS: One thousand seven hundred seventy-four subjects in Hiroshima, Japan born before September 1932 (1,660 with no dementia, 114 with dementia (51 with AD, and 38 with VaD) diagnosed from 1992 to 1997 according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition criteria).

MEASUREMENTS: The subjects were examined for effect on dementia of sex, age, education, atomic bomb radiation dose, and midlife factors associated with risk (smoking, alcohol intake, physical activity, dietary habits, systolic blood pressure (SBP), body mass index, and history of diabetes mellitus) that had been evaluated in 1965-1970.

RESULTS: VaD prevalence increased significantly with age, higher SBP, and lower milk intake. The odds ratios of VaD for age (in 5-year increments), SBP (10 mmHg increments), and milk intake (almost daily/less than four times a week) were 1.29, 1.33, and 0.35, respectively. The risk factors for VaD were compatible with the risk factors for stroke in this study population. AD prevalence increased significantly with age and lower education. Other midlife factors and radiation dose did not show any significant association with VaD or AD.

CONCLUSION: Increased SBP and low milk intake in midlife were associated with VaD detected 25 to 30 years later. Early behavioral control of the risk factors for vascular disease might reduce the risk of dementia.

URL: http://hnb.tokushukai.jp/contents/risk-factors-for-dementia/abstract/93

Exposures and effects of the Chernobyl accident / UNSCEAR 2000 report to the General Assembly

Author: Annex J.

Reference: International Journal of Radiation Medicine, Special issue. — 2000. — Vol. 2–4, № 6–8. — P. 3–109.

Abstract: full text available online.

URL:　http://www.unscear.org/docs/reports/annexj.pdf

Angiotensin-converting enzyme genotype and encephalopathy in Chernobyl cleanup workers

Author: A.D. Kehoe, A.M. Nikiforov, S.S. Alexanin et al.

Reference: Eur. J. Neurol. — 2009. — Vol. 16, № 1. — P. 95–100.

Keywords: cleanup; angiotensin-converting; angiotensin-converting enzyme; encephalopathy; worker; enzyme; ace activity; ace genotype; ace gene; ace inhibition;

Abstract: BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE To identify, using a genetic model, a key role for the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) in the development of dyscirculatory encephalopathy (DE) in Chernobyl cleanup workers (CCW). The insertion/deletion polymorphism of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene denotes a substantial individual variation in RAS activity with the D-allele being associated with higher ACE activity. METHODS Ninety-three male, Caucasian CCW were recruited from those under regular review at the All-Russia Centre of Emergency and Radiation Medicine, St. Petersburg. The presence or absence of DE was determined using existing institutional guidelines. ACE genotype was determined using internationally accepted methodologies. RESULTS Angiotensin-converting enzyme genotype distribution in 59 subjects with DE was II: 10 (17%), ID: 31 (53%), DD: 18 (30%), D-allele frequency 56.8%. Whereas in those without the condition the distribution was II: 12 (35%), ID: 19 (56%), DD 3 (9%) and D-allele frequency 35.9%(P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS These data are the first to identify an association between the ACE D-allele and DE in CCW. They provide evidence of a significant role for the RAS in the development of DE and suggest that clinical trials of ACE inhibition would be profitable in this group.

URL: http://lib.bioinfo.pl/pmid:19018872

Radiation effects on neural precursor cells in the dentate gyrus. (English)

Author: Andres-Mach M., Rola R., Fike J.R.

Reference: Cell Tissue Res. ― 2008. ― Vol. 331, № 1. ― P. 251–262.

Keywords: cognitive impairments, dentate subgranular zone

Abstract: Ionizing irradiation is an effective treatment for intracranial tumors but is limited by the potential adverse effects induced in surrounding normal brain. These effects can include cognitive impairments, and whereas the pathogenesis of such injury has not yet been definitively established, it may involve injury to the neurogenic cell population that exists in the dentate subgranular zone (SGZ) of the hippocampus. Understanding the issues surrounding this topic could have a major impact in the management of specific sequelae associated with cranial irradiation. Although radiation is now becoming a useful tool in investigations into the biology of neurogenesis, the perspective of this review is directed more toward the potential relevance of studying radiation and the stem/precursor cell response.

URL: http://www.atgcchecker.com/pubmed/17786480

Late complications in childhood central nervous system tumour survivors (English)

Author: Anderson N.E.

Reference: Curr. Opin. Neurol. — 2003. — Vol. 16, № 6. — P. 677–683.

Keywords: childhood brain tumour, Cognitive complication, endocrine dysfunction

Abstract:

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: As the treatment of childhood brain tumours has improved, long-term survival has become more common. Cognitive, physical and psychological complications of the tumour and its treatment have been recognized more frequently in long-term survivors. This review highlights new studies on the cognitive and endocrine complications in survivors. Less-common late effects of treatment are also discussed.

RECENT FINDINGS: Cognitive abnormalities and endocrine dysfunction are the most common complications in long-term survivors. Radiotherapy is the main cause of cognitive dysfunction, but intrathecal methotrexate and surgery are contributory factors. New studies have provided information on the frequency of endocrine complications and risk factors for the development of endocrine disorders. Endocrine complications are uncommon when the tumour has been treated with surgery alone. The risk of developing endocrine dysfunction is increased by radiotherapy, and some studies suggest that chemotherapy has an additional deleterious effect. Primary hypothyroidism may be caused by scattered irradiation from spinal and cranial radiotherapy. Direct involvement of the hypothalamus by the tumour, and hypothalamic damage secondary to surgery or radiotherapy, may cause obesity. Hypothalamic tumours also may be associated with hypersomnolence and other features consistent with narcolepsy. The pathogenesis of hypersomnolence in these patients has not been resolved. Long-term childhood brain-tumour survivors are 40 times more likely to develop a stroke than sibling controls. Superficial siderosis of the central nervous system can develop many years after curative treatment of a cerebellar tumour, but effective treatment for this disorder is not yet available.

SUMMARY: An attempt to understand the factors that contribute to the long-term morbidity of childhood brain tumours can lead to changes in treatment that improve the quality of life in survivors. Prevention, early recognition and treatment of these complications are attainable goals.

URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14624076

Chernobyl’s subclinical legacy: prenatal exposure to radioactive fallout and school outcomes in Sweden (English)

Author: Douglas V. Almond; Lena Edlund; Marten Palme

Reference: New York, NY 10027: Department of Economics, Columbia University, 2007.

Keywords: Sweden, Japanese atomic bomb survivors, reduced IQ, Chernobyl, cognitive ability

Abstract: Japanese atomic bomb survivors irradiated 8-25 weeks after ovulation subsequently suffered reduced IQ [Otake and Schull, 1998]. Whether these findings generalize to low doses (less than 10 mGy) has not been established. This paper exploits the natural experiment generated by the Chernobyl nuclear accident in April 1986, which caused a spike in radiation levels in Sweden. In a comprehensive data set of 562,637 Swedes born 1983-1988, we find the cohort in utero during the Chernobyl accident had worse school outcomes than adjacent birth cohorts, and this deterioration was largest for those exposed approximately 8-25 weeks post conception. Moreover, we find larger damage among students born in regions that received more fallout: students from the eight most affected municipalities were 3.6 percentage points less likely to qualify to high school as a result of the fallout. Our findings suggest that fetal exposure to ionizing radiation damages cognitive ability at radiation levels previously considered safe. (full text available on web)

URL: http://academiccommons.columbia.edu/item/ac:114443

Psychological well-being and risk perceptions of mothers in Kyiv, Ukraine, 19 years after the Chornobyl disaster (English)

Author: Adams RE, Guey LT, Gluzman SF, Bromet EJ.

Reference: Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2011

Keywords: long-term mental health consequences, psychological well-being, exposed women, PTSD, MDE

Abstract: The Chornobyl nuclear power plant explosion in April 1986 was one of the worst ecological disasters of the 20th century. As with most disasters, its long-term mental health consequences have not been examined.

Aims: This study describes the psychological well-being and risk perceptions of exposed women 19–20 years later and the risk factors associated with mental health.

Methods: We assessed Chornobyl-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive episode (MDE) and overall distress among three groups of women in Kyiv, Ukraine (N = 797): mothers of small children evacuated to Kyiv in 1986 from the contaminated area near the plant (evacuees); mothers of their children’s classmates (neighbourhood controls); and population-based controls from Kyiv. Risk perceptions and epidemiologic correlates were also obtained.

Results: Evacuees reported poorer well-being and more negative risk perceptions than controls. Group differences in psychological well-being remained after adjustment for epidemiologic risk factors but became non-significant when Chornobyl risk perceptions were added to the models.

Conclusions: The relatively poorer psychological well-being among evacuees is largely explained by their continued concerns about the physical health risks stemming from the accident. We suggest that this is due to the long-term, non-resolvable nature of health fears associated with exposure.

URL: http://isp.sagepub.com/content/early/2011/08/02/0020764011415204.abstract

Abnormalities of thalamic volume and shape detected in fetally irradiated rhesus monkeys with high dimensional brain mapping (English)

M.K. Schindler, L. Wang, L.D. Selemon et al.

URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12007457

Cytochemical characterization of reactivity and brake-enforcement states of cells of the nervous system under radiation damage

Author: A.L. Shabadash

Reference: Восстановительные процессы при радиационных поражениях (recovery processes under radiation injury), 1964

Abstract: No info on web. A well known article among experts.