Permeability of the blood-brain barrier in the rat after local proton irradiation.

Rats were irradiated laterally through the brain with 200 MeV protons. The beam was of circular cross-section with a diameter of 5 or 7 mm. The doses were 50, 70, 100 and 150 Gy. After irradiation the rats were examined several times by use of injected 99Tcm-pertechnetate. The uptake of the substance increased to a maximum after 20 to 30 days and then decreased to a normal level. Differences in maximum uptake with respect to dose were significant only for the smaller beam diameter.