A Japanese study that seeks to examine the effects of nuclear-weapon radiation in the aging human body has received millions in funding from the United States, the U.S. National Institutes of Health announced yesterday (see GSN, Nov. 5).
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases approved close to $9.7 million to be released over a five-year period for the Japanese Radiation Effects Research Foundation.
As part of the study, scientists from the United States and Japan are expected to study biological samples taken from elderly Japanese survivors of the atomic bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Researchers hope to increase their knowledge on how the immune system is affected by exposure to radiation and the aging process.
"We will gain valuable information that will benefit not only the general public but also patients undergoing radiation for cancer treatment and those who could be exposed to radiation from an industrial accident or even a terrorist attack," said NIAID Allergy, Immunology and Transplantation Division Director Daniel Rotrosen in a press release. "This collaboration complements NIAID's program to develop medical countermeasures against radiological and nuclear threats" (U.S. National Institutes of Health release, Nov. 12).