Re: alpha particles and lung cancer

[Gary Isenhower <garyi@bcm.tmc.edu>]

At 2/18/2001 10:42:00 AM, you wrote:
>
>Jim M,
>
>I have been asking you for an explanantion on how alpha particles could be 
>hormetic for lung cancer.  A friend from the U.S. sent me this article with 
  -----SNIP----

Correct me if I am wrong, but it doesn't seem necessary to detail the mechanism of the benefit in 
order to conclude that there is or is not a benefit.  I don't know if there is a benefit, or if we 
know the mechanism, but I think hormesis should stand or fall completely apart from whether we can 
identify the mechanism.  We can worry about mechanisms once we determine what is actually 
happening.


Thanks,
Gary Isenhower
Baylor College of Medicine
713-798-8353
garyi@bcm.tmc.edu

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