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Whole body Bi‐214 and bedroom radon concentration in Multiple Sclerosis
Author(s) -
Lykken Glenn Irven,
Magness Andrew T.,
Momcilovic Berislav
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.22.1_supplement.708.9
Subject(s) - bedroom , radon , nuclear medicine , zoology , environmental health , medicine , geography , archaeology , physics , quantum mechanics , biology
Environmental radon may be an induction factor of multiple sclerosis (MS) due to its high fat solubility and emission of high energy alpha particles. In this study we analyzed the bedroom home ambient air radon ( 222 Rn) and whole body (WB) retention of a radon daughter ( 214 Bi) from each subject's bedroom. The 15 MS subjects came through the Grand Forks MS Support Group, and 15 subjects with no apparent health problems (H) were recruited locally. The WB 214 Bi (Bq/m 3 ) was assessed by WB counting and the 222 Rn was measured with charcoal canisters. The 222 Rn (Bq/m 3 ) range (mean ± SD) was 307 ± 411 in the bedrooms of MS subject vs. 126 ± 122 of the H subjects, respectively; the 214 Bi (Bq) was 333 ± 312 in the MS subjects, vs. 243 ± 144 in the H subjects, respectively. Our preliminary data indicate that the bedroom 222 Rn exposure and WB 214 Bi retention are higher in the MS than H subjects. The study was approved by the local IRB and conducted according to the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. The work was sponsored in part by the USDA ARS Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center and the University of North Dakota Public Scholarship Fund.