Retention half-life

Also shown in Fig. 5.10 are the means and one s.d. ranges (based on log-normal distributions) of Pu in autopsy samples of UK subjects dying in 1980-4 (Popplewell etal., 1985). The agreement with the calculated levels is good, especially if the retention half-life in the lung is taken as... 

Table 7.1 Serum retention half-life for monoclonal antibodies in humans effect of binding...

Murine monoclonal antibody Dose (mg/kg body weight) Serum retention half-life (h)... 

Note The overall biological effects of RAI therapy on thyroid remnants and thyroid cancer are a function of total uptake and the retention (half life) of within the target tissue TSH thyroid-stimulating hormone SSKI saturated solution of potassium iodide RAI radioactive iodine. 

Figure 5.1 represents deposition into and movement among compartments over very different time frames (Mushak, 1992). For example, the largest particles containing lead emitted from stationary source stacks have a short life in the atmosphere, deposited over a matter of days. Lead in soils, by contrast, is relatively immobile and has a retention half-life on the order of decades. 

The Natural Reactor. Some two biUion years ago, uranium had a much higher (ca 3%) fraction of U than that of modem times (0.7%). There is a difference in half-hves of the two principal uranium isotopes, U having a half-life of 7.08 x 10 yr and U 4.43 x 10 yr. A natural reactor existed, long before the dinosaurs were extinct and before humans appeared on the earth, in the African state of Gabon, near Oklo. Conditions were favorable for a neutron chain reaction involving only uranium and water. Evidence that this process continued intermittently over thousands of years is provided by concentration measurements of fission products and plutonium isotopes. Usehil information about retention or migration of radioactive wastes can be gleaned from studies of this natural reactor and its products (12). 

Piaacidil has a short half-life and most human studies were carried out ia slow-release formulatioas. The reductioa ia blood pressure produced by piaacidil is accompanied by tachycardia and fluid retention. Plasma catecholamines and renin activity are iacreased. Other side effects are headache, di22iaess, and asthenia. 

Docetaxel, another taxane, binds to tubulin to promote microtubule assembly. The pharmacokinetics of docetaxel are best described by a three-compartment model, with an a half-life of 0.08 hours, a 3 half-life of 1.6 to 1.8 hours, and a terminal half-life of 65 to 73 hours.14 Docetaxel has activity in the treatment of breast, non-small cell lung, prostate, bladder, esophageal, stomach, ovary, and head and neck cancers. Dexamethasone, 8 mg twice daily for 3 days starting the day before treatment, is used to prevent the fluid retention syndrome associated with docetaxel and possible hypersensitivity reactions. The fluid... 

The Leggett Model simulates lead biokinetics in liver with two compartments the first simulates rapid uptake of lead from plasma and a relatively short removal half-life (days) for transfers to plasma and to the small intestine by biliary secretion a second compartment simulates a more gradual transfer to plasma of approximately 10% of lead uptake in liver. Different transfer rates associated with each compartment are calibrated to reproduce patterns of uptake and retention of lead observed in humans, baboons, and beagles following intravenous injection, as well as blood-to-liver concentration ratios from data on chronically exposed humans. Similarly, the Leggett Model simulates lead biokinetics in three compartments of soft tissues, representing rapid, intermediate, and slow turnover rates (without specific physiologic correlates). 

Radon-222, a decay product of the naturally occuring radioactive element uranium-238, emanates from soil and masonry materials and is released from coal-fired power plants. Even though Rn-222 is an inert gas, its decay products are chemically active. Rn-222 has a a half-life of 3.825 days and undergoes four succesive alpha and/or beta decays to Po-218 (RaA), Pb-214 (RaB), Bi-214 (RaC), and Po-214 (RaC ). These four decay products have short half-lifes and thus decay to 22.3 year Pb-210 (RaD). The radioactive decays products of Rn-222 have a tendency to attach to ambient aerosol particles. The size of the resulting radioactive particle depends on the available aerosol. The attachment of these radionuclides to small, respirable particles is an important mechanism for the retention of activity in air and the transport to people. 

Retention of cerium deposited in these tissues is generally considered to be very long, with a biological half-time in excess of a thousand days. Therefore, the effective half-time of retention in these internal organs will be approximately equal to the physical half-life. 

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