Trends in pharmacological stimulation of regeneration of ionizing radiation-damaged mammalian organism.

Many different substances with varying mechanisms of effects have been tested both in animal experiments, as well as verified in clinical studies as potential radioprotectors and mitigators of radiation damage. Among them, especially cytokines and hematopoietic growth factors have been used also for treatment of radiation accident victims. Two granulocyte colony-stimulating factor-based radiation countermeasures have been approved already for the treatment of the acute radiation syndrome. Nevertheless, a wide spectrum of other substances comprising, e.g., various immunomodulators, prostaglandins, inhibitors of prostaglandin synthesis, agonists of adenosine receptors, herbal extracts, flavonoids, vitamins, and others, has also been studied. These agents with various mechanisms of their influences on an organism are often effective, relatively non-toxic, and cheap. This review concentrates predominantly on the results of experiments which show the potential of untraditional or new radiation countermeasures to become a part of therapeutic procedures applicable in patients with the acute radiation syndrome.