Preliminary study of detection of micronuclei in lymphocytes of medical radiation workers

Medical radiation workers are potentially exposed to low ionizing radiation doses. Exposure to ionizing radiation can induce the formation of micronuclei. Micronucleus (MN) is a small nucleus that is a nuclear material (DNA) formed from chromosomal ascentric fragments that fail to join the daughter cells during cell division. The aim of this study is to evaluate changes in chromosomal structures or chromosomal aberrations based on micronuclei parameters in medical radiation workers exposed to low level ionizing radiation. Blood samples were taken from 12 medical radiation workers with mean duration workers of 16,41 ± 9,94 years old and control group. Observations of micronuclei were obtained in binucleic cells (BNC) using the cytokinesis block (CBMN) assay. The results showed that MN frequencies in medical radiation workers were relatively higher than the control group, but not significantly different (P = 0.67). These results suggest that radiation exposure received by workers does not have a significant impact on micronuclear frequencies. (author)