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Radiation and childhood leukemia

Exposure increases the rate of mutation in the germline

long been known that ionizing radiation can cause leukemia in children exposed
. But a new research, presented on 7 September
in London at a conference organized by the association
"Children with Leukaemia",
also shows that children of people exposed to radiation may have a greater risk of developing leukemia
.

In general, the causes of childhood leukemia are poorly understood.
The disease is known to have many causes, and considers that it may begin upon
uterus with additional events that trigger the
development in childhood. In the twentieth century
the number of cases of leukemia in children, especially those under five,
has increased dramatically. The reason for this increase
is still unknown.

Although the link between ionizing radiation and childhood leukemia
had already been established, only recently
the scientists found that radiation does not increase the rates of mutation
only exposed but also in somatic cells after many cell divisions later
the initial damage.

Yuri Dubrova and colleagues at the University of Leicester
shown that mutation rates in offspring of irradiated male mice
not return to the levels of non-exposed individuals but keep
to levels typical of males exposed directly.
The researchers found that high mutation rates
persist until the second generation of offspring, through
both male and female germ lines.

Dubrova and colleagues have developed a new method for monitoring radiation-induced mutations
in humans, studying families
some rural areas of Ukraine and Belarus
contaminated by the fallout of the Chernobyl accident.
Scientists have discovered a statistically significant increase of 1.6 times
in the rate of mutation in the germline of exposed fathers.

08 weeks. 2004 Source - © 1999 - 2004 Le Scienze SpA