Radiation Toxicity in the Central Nervous System: Mechanisms and Strategies for Injury Reduction

摘要

The potential for radiation-induced toxicities in the brain produce significant anxiety, both among patients receiving radiation therapy and those radiation oncologists providing treatment. These concerns often play a significant role in the medical decision making process for most patients with diseases in which radiotherapy may be a treatment consideration. While the precise mechanisms of neurotoxicity and neurodegeneration following ionizing radiation exposure continue to be poorly understood from a biological perspective, there is an increasing body of scientific and clinical literature that is producing a better understanding of how radiation causes brain injury, factors which determine whether toxicities occur, and potential preventative, treatment and mitigation strategies for patients at high risk or with symptoms of injury. This review will focus primarily on injuries and biological processes described in mature brain.