Hormesis With Ionizing Radiation

First published in 1980: The purpose of this Monograph, Hormesis With Ionizing Radiation, are to crystalize scattered information into an accepted subject of science and to awaken our society to new potential uses of ionizing radiation.

This book presents new information on radiobiology that more clearly refutes the linear no-threshold (LNT) assumption and supports radiation hormesis. Fresh light is cast on the mechanisms of radiation hormesis and the potential benefits of low-dose ionizing radiation in preventing and treating a wide variety of inflammatory and proliferative diseases. It is proposed that these effects may derive from cellular communication via electromagnetic waves directed by DNA, with each cell acting as a quantum computer. Readers will also find close analysis of the negative impacts of radiophobia on many aspects of modern life, including attitudes to imaging technologies, licensing of nuclear power reactors, and preparedness for survival of nuclear war. The book will be of interest to researchers and scientists in radiobiology, radiation protection, health physics, medical physics, and radiology. Specifically, it will provide medical physicians, radiation oncologists, radiation epidemiologists, gerontologists, cell biologists, toxicologists, and nuclear engineers with a wide range of interesting facts and enlightening novel perspectives.

Radiation Hormesis presents the only critical review of the effects of whole-body exposure to low doses of ionizing radiation in animals. This is a "must read" book for radiobiologists, health-conscious individuals, and serious environmentalists. Topics discussed include our radiation environment, radiation hormesis in cancer mortality, growth and development, reproduction and mutation, immunity, and cancer. Data is presented that indicates that low doses of ionizing radiation may actually be beneficial to human health. This information could invalidate the "zero thesis" and linear models used by most regulatory agencies. The implications regarding eliminating linear models and accepting radiation hormesis are also discussed.

Current radiation protection standards are based upon the application of the linear no-threshold (LNT) assumption, which considers that even very low doses of ionizing radiation can cause cancer. The radiation hormesis hypothesis, by contrast, proposes that low-dose ionizing radiation is beneficial. In this book, the author examines all facets of radiation hormesis in detail, including the history of the concept and mechanisms, and presents comprehensive, up-to-date reviews for major cancer types. It is explained how low-dose radiation can in fact decrease all-cause and all-cancer mortality and help to control metastatic cancer. Attention is also drawn to biases in epidemiological research when using the LNT assumption. The author shows how proponents of the LNT assumption consistently reject, manipulate, and deliberately ignore an overwhelming abundance of published data and falsely claim that no reliable data are available at doses of less than 100 mSv.

This book is the seventh in a series of titles from the National Research Council that addresses the effects of exposure to low dose LET (Linear Energy Transfer) ionizing radiation and human health. Updating information previously presented in the 1990 publication, Health Effects of Exposure to Low Levels of Ionizing Radiation: BEIR V, this book draws upon new data in both epidemiologic and experimental research. Ionizing radiation arises from both natural and man-made sources and at very high doses can produce damaging effects in human tissue that can be evident within days after exposure. However, it is the low-dose exposures that are the focus of this book. So-called “late” effects, such as cancer, are produced many years after the initial exposure. This book is among the first of its kind to include detailed risk estimates for cancer incidence in addition to cancer mortality. BEIR VII offers a full review of the available biological, biophysical, and epidemiological literature since the last BEIR report on the subject and develops the most up-to-date and comprehensive risk estimates for cancer and other health effects from exposure to low-level ionizing radiation.

"The new edition of this monograph features renowned experts who offer the most current information and reliable guidance on all aspects of the effects of radiation exposure on humans. They provide the answers you need to effectively treat your patients who have been exposed to accidental, occupational, or medical radiation."--BOOK JACKET.

Basic radiation physics, chemistry, and biology -- Sources of radiation exposure -- Effects on genetic material -- Cancer induction and dose-response models -- Carcinogenesis of specific sites -- Deterministic effects of radiation -- Effects of radiation in combination with other agents -- Radiation exposure in utero -- Uranium, plutonium, and radium -- Attribution of radiation effects and probability of causation in a specific individual -- Perception of radiation and psychological risks -- Hormesis.

Some mild stresses have positive effects on survival and aging as shown in animal models. There is also a large body of research that demonstrates these hormetic effects on aging, health, and resistance to severe stresses and diseases in human beings. However, the data are dispersed in the literature and are not always interpreted as hormetic effects. Hormesis in Health and Disease reviews the evidence for hormesis in humans as achieved through a variety of stresses or stimuli, and discusses mechanisms of hormesis and its ethical and legal issues. Divided into four sections, this book presents the current state of research, including questions, debates, doubts, and controversies in hormesis. Section I covers the history and terminology of hormesis, describing its main features and providing necessary background information. Section II shows that hormetic effects can be caused by various stresses—including physical exercise, nutritional components, fasting, micronutrients, irradiation, heat, ischemia, and mental challenge—and can be observed both in organs and at the organism level. Section III reviews possible mechanisms of hormesis that have been elucidated at this point. Section IV discusses the wider consequences hormesis may have for everyone. This book demonstrates that health beneficial hormetic effects do exist in human beings. It offers information to inspire key players to initiate new strategies to elucidate the strengths and limits of the dual nature of stress.