Vitamin E and A Deficiencies in Children Correlate with Chernobyl Radiation Loads of Their Mothers

E. A. Neyfakh^1*, A. I. Alimbekova², and G. F. Ivanenko¹

¹Institute of Biochemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Kosygina 4, Moscow, 117977 Russia; fax: (095) 137-4101; E-mail: chembio@glas.apc.org

²Kyrgyz State Medical Academy, Bishkek, 720061 Kyrgyzstan

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received July 22, 1997; Revision received February 18, 1998

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Essential lipid bioantioxidants (BAO) (vitamins E and A) and catabolic products of the lipoperoxide cascade (LPC) (diene conjugates, ketodienes, and carbonyls) were determined in blood plasma of children aged 11 days to three years (n = 123) who are residents of regions contaminated with radionuclides (5-40 Ci/km² of ¹³⁷Cs) discharged during the Chernobyl power plant accident. Individual antenatal radiation loads D_a of children and total radiation doses of their mothers D_m were also determined as external gamma-radiation loads, which correlate with internal radiation doses for permanent residents of contaminated regions. Before examination, therapy with multivitamins containing BAO determined in this work was administered to groups of pregnant women and their children (group I, n = 48) age-matched to a group that received no therapy (group II, n = 99). In group II, reduced concentrations of vitamins E and A decreased to levels indicating severe vitamin deficiency and displayed inverse correlations with D_m and D_a. However, in group I these decreases and inverse correlation were only characteristic of initially normal levels of tocopherol. In group II, increases in D_m and D_a caused stress-related increases in blood levels of diene conjugates and ketodienes (which was stronger than in group I with increases in D_a) and, because of this, E and A vitamin deficiencies. In group I, LPC levels inversely correlated with D_m. We found nine significant correlations of radioloads of mothers with BAO and LPC pathologies of their children. The total pathogenic effectiveness of D_m in relation to LPC and BAO of children is comparable to the effectiveness of D_a, which is the most hazardous radiation load. The possibility of existence of a radiation-induced protective response mobilizing BAO from depots into the blood stream is considered. BAO therapy increased the radiation resistance of children. A hypothesis was formulated that the uptake by children of their mother's radioactive Chernobyl isotopes in amounts adequate to their radiation loads is the mechanism of correlations of D_m with long-term pathogenic effects on BAO and LPC systems of children.

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KEY WORDS: Chernobyl radiation loads, children, mothers, the lipoperoxide cascade, vitamins E and A, radiation-induced damage, bioantioxidant therapy

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