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ABSTRACT
Deuterium oxide (D2O) concentration in natural water is about 0,02 %. First symptoms appear in experimental animals when D2O
concentration in body fluids reaches 20-25 %. The stable oxygen isotope 18 is harmless even at highest enrichments. D2O and
18
concentrations are permanent environmental factors, and all living organisms are adapted to them. The concluding point is that
decreased contents of microcomponents such as D2O and 18, which are biologically indifferent also at much higher concentrations,
cannot impart useful qualities to drinking water.
Key words: deuterium, stable isotopes, radiation safety, spleen, mouse
In 1999 in the Romanian Journal of Physiology was published an article (1), where radioprotective and immunostimulating
effects of deuterium-depleted water in mice were reported. During
last years, this theme has become popular among some Russian
researchers: radio-protective properties of the light water were
demonstrated in experimental animals predominantly on the
basis of histopathological analysis of the spleen. Considerable
differences in murine spleen morphology were shown between
the radiation-exposed animals receiving usual water on one side,
and deuterium-depleted (2) or deuterium- and 18O-depleted water
(3) on the other side. The study (3) was funded by the Federal
agency for science and innovations of Russian Federation.
Furthermore, protective effect of the deuterium- and 18O-depleted water against radiation-induced lenticular opacity in mice
was reported (4). Cataracts are a common pathological abnormality of the lens characterized by the loss of lens transparency.
They are the leading cause of blindness worldwide. Because of
its high prevalence, this disease has substantial public health
implications (5). The lens of the eye is recognized as one of the
most radiosensitive tissues in the human body. Ultraviolet rays (5)
and ionizing radiation (6) can induce formation of the cataracts.
Therefore, a proposition about protective effects of the light
water against the cataract is of great potential importance for
public health. However, reliability of such statements is doubtful
because of the following reasons.
In the nature, the ratio of deuterium to hydrogen (D/H) is
about 1:6600, which means that concentration of deuterium
in natural water is about 150 parts per million (ppm) or 0.015
atom% (7). First symptoms appear in experimental animals at
D2O concentrations in corporal fluids of more than 20-25 %,
while death follows after a concentration increase up to 30-35
Received January 2010. Accepted May 2010. Address for correspondence: Sergei V. Jargin, Clementovski per 6-82; 115184 Moscow, Russia, e-mail: sjargin@mail.ru
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lenticular opacity development in mice after repeated low dose gammairradiation (in Russian with English summary) Aviakosm Ekolog Med,
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