A 19-year-old, 118 pound male subject may have been exposed to radiation as part of an experimental Navy program. Three weeks later, the subject became ill. Symptoms included weight loss (20 pounds), severe pain, and violent behavior. After three days, the subject lapsed into coma, and was then found to suffer from uncontrolled insulin dependent diabetes.
During a routine physical examination 18 months later, the subject was found to suffer from spina bifida and situs inversus.
Did radiation cause this patient's medical abnormalities?
There are few topics more misunderstood than radiation. Much of the fear associated with radioactivity derives from its association with nuclear war. Such concerns only intensified following the Chernobyl reactor accident in April of 1986. Moreover, media reporting of epidemiological studies tends to emphasize positive rather than negative results. Consequently, the actual hazards inherent to low-level radiation exposures are often exaggerated. Although the biological effects of radiation can be dramatic, these phenomena have been well documented.
Considerable research has been performed on the physiologic alterations caused by radiation. For the most part, this alteration depends on the amount of energy imparted to the absorbing biologic material (6:393). Acute effects may include erythema, blood changes, vomiting, loss of hair, and even death. Acute changes seldom occur at radiation doses below roughly 25 rem. In addition though, people exposed to radiation may also suffer from various delayed physiologic effects (1:69-90).
In vitro studies have provided substantial information regarding the mechanisms by which radiation kills cells. The energy primarily targets cells' genetic material (i.e., its deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA). When such cells attempt to divide, they then undergo a "mitotic" death (2:1-17).
Some tissues are affected by radiation exposure within ...