Monkey brain damage from radiation in the therapeutic range

Abstract

Twelve Macaca mulatta monkeys received 200 rads of supervoltage radiation to the whole brain per day, 5 days a week. The course in 4 monkeys was 4 weeks for a total dose of 4000 rads; in 4 monkeys, 6 weeks for 6000 rads; and in 4 monkeys, 8 weeks for 8000 rads. Four unirradiated monkeys served as controls. One from each group, sacrificed at 6 and 12 months from start of irradiation, are reported here. The results from 4000 rads were negligible; those from 8000 rads, profound, with gross brain destruction. The results from 6000 rads, within the therapeutic range, included at 6 months punctate necrotic lesions, 1 mm or less, widely scattered but with a predilection for the forebrain white matter. The reaction to these lesions ranged from an early macrophage response to calcification. Some were accompanied by focal edema. There were occasional examples of vascular endothelial proliferation. In addition, there were patches of dilated capillaries or telangiectasia. Twelve months after 6000 rads there were a few mineralized lesions and innumerable minute deposits of calcium and iron. A more active process was suggested by widely disseminated areas of telangiectasia, 6 to 12 mm in extent. The clinical course from this exposure included papilledema from the third to the sixth month and depressed visual evoked response accompanied by delta activity in the electroencephalogram from the sixth to the twelfth month.