"Risk Analysis" journal article on hormesis

[Jim Muckerheide <jmuckerheide@delphi.com>]

Group,

This is another, more accessible, source of applicable information for our
purposes (link or ascii).

Please send to all those you know who would/should be interested.

I appreciate the personal notes responding positively to the previous data. I
would appreciate more comments, especially any concerns about the validity
and/or applicability of the fundamental biology.  Or even if only, "we didn't
get this in rad protection-based 'biology' about 'DNA damage' and 'somatic
effects' explanations of radiation and cancer."

Regards, Jim
Radiation, Science, and Health
==============================

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10765404&dopt=Abstract

Risk Anal 1999 Apr;19(2):261-81 

 Hormesis: a highly generalizable and reproducible phenomenon with important
implications for risk assessment. 

 Calabrese EJ, Baldwin LA, Holland CD 

 Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health,
University of Massachusetts, Amherst 01003, USA.

 [Medline record in process]

 From a comprehensive search of the literature, the hormesis phenomenon was
found to occur over a wide range of chemicals, taxonomic groups, and
endpoints. By use of computer searches and extensive cross-referencing, nearly
3000 potentially relevant articles were identified. Evidence of chemical and
radiation hormesis was judged to have occurred in approximately 1000 of these
by use of a priori criteria. These criteria included study design features
(e.g., number of doses, dose range), dose-response relationship, statistical
analysis, and reproducibility of results. Numerous biological endpoints were
assessed, with growth responses the most prevalent, followed by metabolic
effects, reproductive responses, longevity, and cancer. Hormetic responses
were generally observed to be of limited magnitude with an average maximum
stimulation of 30 to 60 percent over that of the controls. This maximum
usually occurred 4- to 5-fold below the NOAEL for a particular endpoint. The
present analysis suggests that hormesis is a reproducible and generalizable
biological phenomenon and is a fundamental component of many, if not most,
dose-response relationships. The relatively infrequent observation of hormesis
in the literature is believed to be due primarily to experimental design
considerations, especially with respect to the number and range of doses and
endpoint selection. Because of regulatory considerations, most toxicologic
studies have been carried out at high doses above the low-dose region where
the hormesis phenomenon occurs.
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