Key result
Oral antioxidants attenuate acute P53 mRNA increases by ~80% in radiation-exposed interventional physicians.
Why the study?
The effects of naturally occurring antioxidants on acute DNA damage repair responses to ionizing radiation in interventional physicians during angiography were unclear.
Does oral antioxidant premedication reduce DNA damage repair responses in interventional physicians exposed to ionizing radiation?
Does oral antioxidant premedication reduce DNA damage repair responses in interventional physicians exposed to ionizing radiation?
Absolute Event Rate: 19% vs 97%
p-value: p=0.024
Oral antioxidant premedication may attenuate acute ionizing radiation-induced oxidative stress and DNA damage responses in interventional physicians.
Captured external expert commentary on this paper, strongest first. Original sources are linked where available.
“An oral antioxidant cocktail of seven pills including beta-carotene, vitamin C, alpha lipoic acid and n-acetyl cysteine offered prior to medical imaging for screening or intervention, may result in a reduction in cancer induction risk. Our results suggest that antioxidant pre-medication can protect DNA from damage induced by X-rays in medical imaging exams. The implications for cancer induction are speculative.”
“Pre-administering this formula before a medical imaging exam may be one of the most important tools to provide radioprotection and especially important for patients in the getting CT scans.”
“Developing a safe and effective radioprotective agent could add another layer of protection to our patients who are at highest risk from exposure to ionizing radiation.”
Antioxidants may attenuate acute radiation-induced DNA damage in interventionalists; hypothesis-generating and requires larger randomized confirmation before any practice consideration.
BACKGROUND: To examine effects of naturally occurring antioxidants on DNA damage repair acute responses of ionizing radiation sustained by interventional physicians during angiography. METHODS: The study cohort included 20 interventional physicians (19 males, 1 female; mean age: 45.4 ± 13.2 years) performing angiography fluoroscopically guided procedures. Participants were allocated to a treatment group receiving oral antioxidants (N = 10/group) before starting day cases or to an untreated control group performing procedures without antioxidants (N = 10/group). mRNA biomarkers of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA injury repair response in peripheral blood lymphocytes were assessed before and after workday. RESULTS: Baseline DNA repair biomarkers and procedural fluoroscopic exposures were similar between the study groups. Individual pre-post changes in MRNA levels were not significant for any biomarkers in the antioxidant-treated group but were significantly increased in the untreated control group for P53 (P = 0.006), NF-κB (P = 0.002), and COX4i1 (P = 0.004). Between-group differences in post-exposure gene expression were significantly (P = 0.024) higher with P53 being 78% higher in the untreated versus the treated group and COX4i1 levels also significantly (P = 0.028) higher by 46% in the untreated group. Absolute change in the STAT3 mRNA level was higher by 54% in the untreated group but between-group difference was not significant (P = 0.066). There was a lower burden of NF-κB mRNA levels of inflammation in the treatment than the untreated group (18 ± 8% versus 60 ± 15%) with significant between-group difference (P = 0.020). CONCLUSIONS: Significant elevations in peripheral blood lymphocytes of mRNA biomarkers of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA injury repair response occurred in untreated interventional physicians exposed to ionizing radiation during fluoroscopically guided interventions. In physicians pretreated with a novel antioxidant formulation, biomarkers of DNA repair responses were significantly attenuated suggesting a decreased acute IR-induced oxidative stress-mediated DNA damage response.
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Murphy et al. (2026) studied Occupational ionizing radiation exposure (n=20). Oral antioxidant premedication (DNA Halo) vs. Untreated control was evaluated on P53 mRNA expression change (PRE to POST) (p=0.024). Oral antioxidant premedication significantly attenuated the acute increase in P53 mRNA expression (19% vs 97% increase, P=0.024) in interventional physicians exposed to ionizing radiation.
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