📖 ABSTRACT/OVERVIEW
The biological effectiveness of medical ionising radiation, including its induction of DNA damage, chromosomal aberrations, and cell senescence, may vary in Nigerian patients due to genetic polymorphisms in DNA repair pathways, nutritional status, co-morbidities such as malaria and HIV, and cumulative background radiation levels that differ from populations on which standard biological effectiveness models are based. This study conducts an original investigation of biological effectiveness endpoints in Nigerian patients receiving high-dose diagnostic or therapeutic imaging procedures. A laboratory-based prospective study recruits 300 Nigerian patients undergoing high-dose procedures (cardiac CT, interventional radiology, intraoperative fluoroscopy) and 100 age-matched controls at four tertiary hospitals in Lagos, Kano, Enugu, and Rivers States. Blood samples collected before and 24 hours after procedures are analysed for: micronucleus frequency as a chromosomal instability endpoint; gamma-H2AX foci for DNA double-strand break quantification; telomere length as a cellular ageing endpoint; and expression profiles of 24 DNA damage response genes using RT-PCR. Generalised linear mixed models in R examine dose-response relationships and patient-level biological effectiveness modifiers. The study constructs the first Nigerian-population biological effectiveness dataset for medical radiation, providing empirical data for Nigerian radiation risk model calibration. Available radiobiology literature from West African populations is entirely absent from peer-reviewed publications, representing a global knowledge gap. The Linear Energy Transfer Theory, the ICRP biological effectiveness framework, and the DNA Damage Response Theory provide the theoretical foundation. Keywords: biological effectiveness, medical radiation, DNA damage, Nigerian patients, radiobiology.
Need Complete Chapters of the Above Topic?
Get high-quality, Zero-AI research materials with current citations.
Request via WhatsApp 💬