Publications by authors named "Alexis Rump"

Article Synopsis
  • After a radiological or nuclear emergency, people can get sick from radiation and helping them quickly can be very hard.
  • The paper reviews past major radiation incidents to find out what worked and what didn’t in handling these emergencies.
  • It suggests new ways to quickly check for radiation sickness, use helpful information from the public, and improve healthcare for affected people in the future.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Excretion analysis is the established method for detection of incorporated alpha-emitting radionuclides, but it is laborious and time consuming. We sought a simplified method in which changes in gene expression might be measured in human peripheral blood to detect incorporated radionuclides. Such an approach could be used to quickly determine internal exposure in instances of a radiological dispersal device or a radiation accident.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In the case of a terrorist attack by a "dirty bomb", blast injuries, external irradiation and the incorporation of radioactivity are to be expected. Departing from information about the radiological attack scenario with cesium-137 in the U.S.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Ascorbic acid is a strong antioxidant and has potent radioprotective effects on radiation injuries. Ascorbic acid 2-glucoside (AA2G) is a stabilized derivative of ascorbic acid and rapidly hydrolyzed into ascorbic acid and glucose. Since there is the possibility that AA2G treatment interferes with the antitumor activity of radiotherapy, we investigated the effect of AA2G treatment during radiotherapy on acute radiation enteritis and antitumor activity of radiotherapy in rats.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: In the case of a nuclear incident, the release of radioiodine must be expected. Radioiodine accumulates in the thyroid and by irradiation enhances the risk of cancer. Large doses of stable (non-radioactive) iodine may inhibit radioiodine accumulation and protect the thyroid ('thyroid blocking').

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Radiotherapy represents a common treatment strategy for patients suffering from oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). However, application of radiotherapy is immanently limited by radio-sensitivity of normal tissue surrounding the tumor sites. In this study, we used normal human epithelial keratinocytes (NHEK) and OSCC cells (Cal-27) as models to investigate radio-modulating and anti-tumor effects of the synthetic triterpenoid 2-cyano-3,12-dioxooleana-1,9,-dien-28-oic acid methyl ester (CDDO-Me).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: In radiological emergencies with radionuclide incorporation, decorporation treatment is particularly effective if started early. Treating all people potentially contaminated ("urgent treatment") may require large antidote stockpiles. An efficacious way to reduce antidote requirements is by using radioactivity screening equipment.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Radiotherapy is a major treatment option for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). However, the success of radiotherapy is limited by tumor cell resistance to ionizing radiation (IR). Clinical studies have demonstrated an overall improved prognosis and higher susceptibility to radiotherapy of high‑risk human papillomavirus (HPV)‑associated HNSCC compared with classic HNSCC, as well as worse overall survival for male HNSCC patients.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In the case of a nuclear power plant accident, repetitive/prolonged radioiodine release may occur. Radioiodine accumulates in the thyroid and by irradiation enhances the risk of cancer. Large doses of non-radioactive iodine may protect the thyroid by inhibiting radioiodine uptake into the gland (iodine blockade).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In the case of nuclear incidents, radioiodine may be liberated. After incorporation it accumulates in the thyroid and by internal irradiation enhances the risk of cancer occurrence. By administering a large dose of non-radioactive iodine the uptake of radioiodine into the gland can be inhibited ("iodine blockade").

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Inhalation injury is often associated with burns and significantly increases morbidity and mortality. The main toxic components of fire smoke are carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, and irritants. In the case of an incident at a nuclear power plant or recycling facility associated with fire, smoke may also contain radioactive material.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A wide spectrum of scenarios may lead to radiation incidents and the liberation of radioactive material. In the case of a terrorist attack by a "dirty bomb", there is a risk of mechanical and thermal trauma, external irradiation, superficial contamination and incorporation of radioactive material. The first treatment priority must be given to the care of trauma patients with life-threatening injuries, as the health effects of radiation occur with latency.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Childhood radiation exposure has been associated with increased papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) risk. The role of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene rearrangements in radiation-related PTC remains unclear, but STRN-ALK fusions have recently been detected in PTCs from radiation exposed persons after Chernobyl using targeted next-generation sequencing and RNA-seq. We investigated ALK and RET gene rearrangements as well as known driver point mutations in PTC tumours from 77 radiation-exposed patients (mean age at surgery 22.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) are a basic requirement of modern wireless communication technology. Statutory thresholds of RF-EMF are established to limit relevant additional heat supply in human tissue. Nevertheless, to date, questions concerning nonthermal biological effects have yet to be fully addressed.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: In radiological emergencies, there is a risk of radionuclide incorporation. The radiological doses absorbed can be reduced by decorporation treatment. Antidote requirements depend on the scenario and treatment strategy ("urgent approach": immediate treatment of all patients with possible incorporation; "precautionary approach": treatment only after confirmation of incorporation).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In the case of an attack by a "dirty bomb" with cesium-137 there is a risk of internal contamination. The excretion of cesium-137 can be enhanced by Prussian Blue (PB), and thus the committed effective dose be reduced. We analyzed the benefit and costs of PB decorporation treatment.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: The modern Japanese health care system was established during the Meiji period (1868-1912) using the example of Germany. In this paper, the funding and remuneration of health services and products in Japan are described. The focus lies on the mechanisms used to implement health policy goals and to control costs.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In the case of a terrorist attack by a "dirty bomb" there is a risk of internal contamination with radionuclides through inhalation and wounds. We studied the efficacy of a decorporation treatment depending on the initiation time and duration. Based on biokinetic models, we simulated the impact of different diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid treatments on the committed effective dose after the incorporation of plutonium-239.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein K (hnRNP K) is overexpressed in malignant tumors and involved in DNA damage response upon ionizing radiation (IR). Here, we investigate its role in radioresistance of colorectal carcinoma (CRC) and evaluate a pharmacological approach to enhance CRC radiosensitivity via downregulation of hnRNP K. We show that hnRNP K is overexpressed in CRC tissue specimens and upregulated in response to IR in vitro, which occurs faster in KRAS-mutant CRC cells.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Unlabelled: The concentration-dependent toxic effects of exogenous noradrenaline (NA, CAS 51-41-2) on acute regional myocardial ischemia (MI) was investigated with and without alpha- and beta-adrenoceptor blockade. Electrically-driven rabbit Langendorff-hearts with depleted catecholamine stores were used (reserpin 7.0 mg/kg i.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF