A two-step concept to derive a consistent set of intervention levels for radiation emergency planning and to translate international recommendations into practical guidance.

A two-step concept is proposed in order to derive a consistent set of intervention levels for early (sheltering, evacuation) and late (relocation/resettlement, returning) protective actions that have to be considered in radiation emergency planning. In the first step, the dose ratios of the projected effective doses have to be calculated for four defined time periods, which correspond with the integration times for sheltering and relocation. In the second step, it is necessary to adopt an intervention level for one protective action or a more general reference level for a certain time period as, for example, the reference level recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) Publication 103 in 2007.

[Chronic pain therapy].

Chronic pain represents a considerable health problem in developed countries, too. This fact is especially important in the socio-economic perspective. The nowadays at least partially known fundamental processes of the development of chronic pain allow for a mechanism-oriented therapeutical approach.

Early metabolic responses in temozolomide treated low-grade glioma patients.

Amino acid transport and protein synthesis are important steps of tumor growth. We investigated the time course of tumor metabolism in low-grade gliomas (LGG) during temozolomide chemotherapy, and compared metabolic responses as measured with positron emission tomography (PET) with volume responses as revealed by magnetic resonance imaging (MR). A homogeneous population of 11 patients with progressive non-enhancing LGG was prospectively studied.