HEMATOPOIESIS RESEARCH IN APLASTIC-ANEMIA INDUCED BY ACCIDENTAL PROTRACTED RADIATION

Over the past few years there have been 2 radiation-related accidents involving a large number of individuals: the April 1986 accident in Ch ernobyl nuclear power station in the Ukraine and the September 1987 ac cident in Goiania, Brazil. These 2 radiation-related accidents highlig ht the major question raised by radiation-induced injury to the haemat opoietic system, that is: does a given patient suffer from a reversibl e or an irreversible haematopoietic stem cell damage ? Although about 350 radiation accidents involving several thousand people are known fr om the literature, in-depth haematopoiesis analyses of individuals aft er a radiation-related accident have rarely been reported. In this pap er we present the case of a young man with radiation-induced aplasia a nd compare some biological data to those of 16 normal individuals and of 17 patients with acquired aplastic anaemia. Our patient was clinica lly and biologically (as assessed by long-term bone marrow culture) in distinguishable from patients with idiopathic acquired aplastic anaemi a. Furthermore, therapeutic altitudes in this patient are discussed. I n-depth study of such radiation-induced aplastic anaemia cases can she d some light in the understanding of this disease and may help in ther apeutic decisions.