With the current country of things , it ’s nearly impossible to twist on the newsworthiness without hearing some kick the bucket reference to chemical or nuclear warfare . And while we have at least some countermeasures ready to derogate damage from the former , it ’s the atomic part that go away us biologically defenseless .
But all that could shortly change — in just a few day , the Food and Drug Administration will consider giving their authoritative benediction to a medical therapeutic against nuclear attacks for the very first time .
The drugs in interrogation , known as leukocyte maturation factors , are presently used primarily by cancer patients for their white - blood - mobile phone - boosting holding . Since chemotherapy severely lowers your infection - fighting white blood electric cell reckoning , the leukocyte growth factors help stimulate osseous tissue gist to replace what ’s been lost .
Using these same drugs ( which can be found under brand names such as Neulasta , Neupogen , and Leukine ) in their study , the National Institutes of Health address monkey that had been endanger to radiation to anticipate resultant . After 60 days , the 79 % of the 24 Neupogen - treated monkeys live , as opposed to a mere 41 % of 22 untreated monkeys . And that difference was plain significant enough to terminate the subject area mighty there .
According to an FDA report :
The FDA - approval of a product for use in a radiological / atomic setting will facilitate approach to this Cartesian product in the consequence of such an emergency .
We wo n’t bang until sometime after May 3 , when the FDA is set to fulfill , if any of this will make genuine , usable , biography - saving results , and plainly this wo n’t grant us invincibility against , well , getting blown up . But with the counselling we ’re headed , a irradiation redress could very well become life-sustaining . [ Bloomberg ]
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