Kinetics of recovery from sublethal radiation damage

In an article published recently, Drs Hopewell and van den Aardweg (1988) re-analyse data on the kinetics of recovery from sublethal radiation damage (SLD). They question whether SLD repair follows mono-exponential kinetics and present a number of graphs that show fast repair in the beginning followed by slower repair. We have also noted that repair kinetics in human skin could be interpreted on the basis of two components (Turesson & Thames, 1989). In the latter study, however, direct analysis (Thames et al, 1986) was used and this differs from the method employed by Hopewell and van den Aardweg, which involved studying changes in the “percentage dose unrepaired.” We wish to point out certain aspects of this analysis that must be considered when applying it.