Radiation Therapy
Ionizing radiation is classified as a neurotoxicant. A 2004 cohort study concluded that irradiation of the brain with dose levels overlapping those imparted by computed tomography can, in at least some instances, adversely affect intellectual development. Prenatal exposure to ionizing radiation at the 8-15 and 16–25 weeks after ovulation was found to induce severe mental retardation as well as variation in intelligence quotient (IQ) and school performance. It is uncertain, if there exist a threshold, under which one or more of these effects, of prenatal exposure to ionizing radiation, do not exist. Cumulative equivalent doses above 500 mSv of ionizing radiation to the head were proven with epidemiological evidences to cause cerebro-vascular atherosclerotic damage. The equivalent dose of 500 mGy x-rays is 500 mSv.
Radiation therapy was found to cause cognitive decline. Cognitive decline was especially apparent in young children, between the ages of 5 to 11. Studies found, for example, that the IQ of 5-year-old children declined each year after treatment by additional several IQ points, thereby the child's IQ decreased and decreased while growing older.
Read more about this topic: Radiation Induced Cognitive Decline
Famous quotes containing the words radiation and/or therapy:
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