The discovery of X-rays in 1895 by Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen revolutionized medicine and science by allowing the visualization of internal organisms without the need for invasive procedures. Since then, the use of ionizing radiation to diagnose various pathologies has expanded. In fact, modern medicine as we know it today would not be possible without this valuable tool.
However, its use may result in harmful effects that may lead to acute and chronic toxicity that reduces the quality of life associated with the long-term health of these patients. It is difficult to establish strict parameters for determining the effects of radiation on cells, since the damage caused depends on many factors: both the type of ionizing radiation and its dose, and the individual characteristics of the irradiated tissues.
To reduce the harmful effects of ionizing radiation on healthy tissues, we have various therapeutic options based on preventing, mitigating or treating tissue damage.
How can antioxidants help us?
Experimental and clinical data have allowed us to identify a significant number of molecules that effectively protect against damage caused by ionizing radiation due to their antioxidant properties. They are “radioprotectors”.
When a person is exposed to radiation, large amounts of free oxygen radicals, including reactive oxygen species (ROS), are rapidly produced, causing a state of oxidative stress. The free oxygen radicals produced can react with DNA and RNA in healthy cells, causing structural and functional changes. For example, excessive radiation to the lower abdomen or pelvis is likely to affect fertility, causing infertility.
Since acute radiation toxicity is mainly due to cellular damage resulting from oxidative DNA damage, substances that can scavenge free radicals (antioxidants such as amifostine, glutamine, curcumin, flavonoids and polyphenols) may reduce this damage caused by ionizing radiation.
Amifostine was the first FDA-approved clinical radiation protection agent, designed to reduce the effects of radiation on normal tissue, reduce its toxicity, and potentially allow for increased radiation dose to be delivered to a tumor. Although amifostine was approved by the FDA nearly 20 years ago, it has not yet been widely used clinically.
Where are we going?
Many people we meet every day in radiology services are wondering whether the test they are about to undergo increases their risk of getting this terrible “cancer”. This social concern has recently become evident on social media.
Much of the effort in radiobiology is focused on finding the metabolic pathways of action of various antioxidants that allow us to protect healthy tissues. That is, to develop an individual intervention protocol using antioxidants and dietary supplements specifically for each case and situation, so that patients drink the same “antioxidant juice” with a radioprotective effect before an X-ray.
Although the risk of these medical examinations is minimal, it would be very useful to reduce it as much as possible by providing substances that protect us before radiological examinations.