Chromosome investigations on persons whose mothers have been treated with ionizing radiations during pregnancy

This thesis reports on chromosome investigations on seven persons between 2 and 26 years of age who, during their prenatal life, have been exposed to ionizing radiation. The metaphase chromosomes from peripheral lymphocytes, obtained by standard cytogenic methods, have been scanned for numerical and structural aberrations after a culture period of two or three days. Comparison with non-irradiated specimens revealed a summarily slight increase in the occurrence of some structural aberrations in the irradiated material. The differences are smaller in number than the rate of deviation to be accounted to culturing techniques so that one cannot deduce a radiation-induced impairment from these results. As one of the persons investigated has been undergoing longterm therapy with anticonvulsive drugs, this case is discussed separately. In another case, new staining methods (G, C, or Q-bands) together with an investigation of material from the father, revealed a particularly small Y-chromosome. (orig./MG)