The risks associated with the exposure to low level radiation are much lower than previously expected, and most of the sources of radiation people receive from natural background exposures to medical x-rays and CT scans contribute very little to the odds of developing cancer.
Renowned German scientist Professor L E Feinendegen stated this while delivering a lecture on "Nuclear Medicine - Low Radiation Effects" at the University of Health Sciences (UHS) here on Friday.
UHS Board of Governors' Chairman Professor Mahmood Ahmad, Vice-chancellor Professor M H Mubbashar, Pakistan Science Foundation Chairman Dr N M Butt, senior faculty members and a number of students attended the lecture, which was jointly arranged by the Higher Education Commission, Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission and Pakistan Science Foundation.
Professor Feinendegen, who has been the vice-president of the Council for the Meeting of Nobel Laureates in Lindau, Germany, was of the view that our common sense of the radiation management is erroneous. It was usually considered that even the lowest dose of radiation was detrimental to human health, but now scientists had found that low level radiation had some bio-positive effects.
He further said that very low amount of radiation was not harmful for us; in-fact exposure to low doses increased the effect of natural barriers, such as immune system, against the disease.
He categorised the health effects of low-level radiation as (i) suppression of cancer by enhancement of immune system based on gene activation; (ii) avoidance and therapy of obstinate diseases by enhancing damage control system and hormone formation; (iii) pain relief and stress moderation by hormone formation in brain and central nervous system; and (vi) adaptive response by activation of gene expression on DNA repair and cell Apoptosis.
However, he added, higher doses of radiation could cause malignance by sending electrons through cells that created pockets of energy, which, in turn, produced double-strand breaks in a cell's DNA. Later, UHS Chairman Board of Governors Professor Mahmood Ahmad presented a shield to Professor Feinendegen.
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