[Mechanisms of cerebral radiation syndrome]

Postradiation DNA breaks activate the repair enzyme, Adenosine diphosphoribosil transferase, which consumes NAD as a substrate and causes neuronal NAD and then ATP pool depletion; here this is considered to be the crucial links of the cerebral radiation syndrome (CRS) mechanism. Two ways of its metabolic correction were examined: (a) prevention of postradiation NAD depletion by administration of the enzyme inhibitor and (b) shunting NAD-dependent oxidative phosphorilation path of ATP resynthesis by administration of substrate of NAD-independent oxidation.