Comments on potential health effects of MRI induced DNA lesions: quality is more important to consider than quantity
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is increasingly being used in cardiology to detect heart disease and guide therapy. It is mooted to be a safer alternative to imaging techniques, such as computed tomography (CT) or coronary angiographic imaging. However there has recently been an increased interest...
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| Format: | Journal article |
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Oxford University Press
2016
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| _version_ | 1797063951334244352 |
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| author | Hill, M O'Neill, P Mckenna, W |
| author_facet | Hill, M O'Neill, P Mckenna, W |
| author_sort | Hill, M |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is increasingly being used in cardiology to detect heart disease and guide therapy. It is mooted to be a safer alternative to imaging techniques, such as computed tomography (CT) or coronary angiographic imaging. However there has recently been an increased interest in the potential long term health risks of MRI, especially in the light of the controversy resulting from a small number of research studies reporting an increase in DNA damage following exposure, with calls to limit its use and avoid unnecessary examination, according to the precautionary principle. Overall the published data are somewhat limited and inconsistent, the ability of MRI to produce DNA lesions has yet to be robustly demonstrated and future experiments should be carefully designed to optimise sensitivity and benchmarked to validate and assess reproducibility. The majority of the current studies have focussed on the initial induction of DNA damage and this has led to comparisons between the reported induction of H2AX and implied double-strand breaks (DSB) yields produced following MRI with induction by imaging techniques using ionising radiation. However H2AX is not only a marker of classical double-ended DSB, but also a marker of stalled replication forks and in certain circumstances stalled DNA transcription. Additionally, ionising radiation is efficient at producing complex DNA damage, unique to ionising radiation, with an associated reduction in repairability. Even if the fields associated with MRI are capable of producing DNA damage, the lesions produced will in general be simple, similar to those produced by endogenous processes. It is therefore inappropriate to try and infer cancer risk by simply comparing the yields of H2AX foci or DNA lesions potentially produced by MRI to those produced by a given exposure of ionising radiation, which will generally be more biologically effective and have a greater probability of leading to long term health effects. As a result it is important to concentrate on more relevant downstream endpoints (e.g. chromosome aberration production), along with potential mechanisms by which MRI may lead to DNA lesions. This could potentially involve a perturbation in homeostasis of oxidative stress, modifying the background rate of endogenous DNA damage induction. In summary, what the field needs at the moment is more research and less fear-mongering. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T21:07:19Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:3cea5057-4afc-4fcc-be9f-c97a39397c33 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T21:07:19Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | Oxford University Press |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:3cea5057-4afc-4fcc-be9f-c97a39397c332022-03-26T14:16:27ZComments on potential health effects of MRI induced DNA lesions: quality is more important to consider than quantityJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:3cea5057-4afc-4fcc-be9f-c97a39397c33Symplectic Elements at OxfordOxford University Press2016Hill, MO'Neill, PMckenna, WMagnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is increasingly being used in cardiology to detect heart disease and guide therapy. It is mooted to be a safer alternative to imaging techniques, such as computed tomography (CT) or coronary angiographic imaging. However there has recently been an increased interest in the potential long term health risks of MRI, especially in the light of the controversy resulting from a small number of research studies reporting an increase in DNA damage following exposure, with calls to limit its use and avoid unnecessary examination, according to the precautionary principle. Overall the published data are somewhat limited and inconsistent, the ability of MRI to produce DNA lesions has yet to be robustly demonstrated and future experiments should be carefully designed to optimise sensitivity and benchmarked to validate and assess reproducibility. The majority of the current studies have focussed on the initial induction of DNA damage and this has led to comparisons between the reported induction of H2AX and implied double-strand breaks (DSB) yields produced following MRI with induction by imaging techniques using ionising radiation. However H2AX is not only a marker of classical double-ended DSB, but also a marker of stalled replication forks and in certain circumstances stalled DNA transcription. Additionally, ionising radiation is efficient at producing complex DNA damage, unique to ionising radiation, with an associated reduction in repairability. Even if the fields associated with MRI are capable of producing DNA damage, the lesions produced will in general be simple, similar to those produced by endogenous processes. It is therefore inappropriate to try and infer cancer risk by simply comparing the yields of H2AX foci or DNA lesions potentially produced by MRI to those produced by a given exposure of ionising radiation, which will generally be more biologically effective and have a greater probability of leading to long term health effects. As a result it is important to concentrate on more relevant downstream endpoints (e.g. chromosome aberration production), along with potential mechanisms by which MRI may lead to DNA lesions. This could potentially involve a perturbation in homeostasis of oxidative stress, modifying the background rate of endogenous DNA damage induction. In summary, what the field needs at the moment is more research and less fear-mongering. |
| spellingShingle | Hill, M O'Neill, P Mckenna, W Comments on potential health effects of MRI induced DNA lesions: quality is more important to consider than quantity |
| title | Comments on potential health effects of MRI induced DNA lesions: quality is more important to consider than quantity |
| title_full | Comments on potential health effects of MRI induced DNA lesions: quality is more important to consider than quantity |
| title_fullStr | Comments on potential health effects of MRI induced DNA lesions: quality is more important to consider than quantity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Comments on potential health effects of MRI induced DNA lesions: quality is more important to consider than quantity |
| title_short | Comments on potential health effects of MRI induced DNA lesions: quality is more important to consider than quantity |
| title_sort | comments on potential health effects of mri induced dna lesions quality is more important to consider than quantity |
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