The hot springs in certain areas of Ramsar contain (226)Ra and (222)Rn. The effects of natural radiation on the inhabitants of these areas and the inhabitant's radiosensitivity or adaptive responses were studied. One group of volunteers from areas with high natural background radiation and another group from areas with normal background radiation were chosen as the case and control group respectively. The frequency of micronuclei, apoptosis, and DNA damage in peripheral blood mononuclear cells were measured following gamma irradiation (4 Gy). The incidence of micronuclei in the case group was significantly lower than that in the control group while their frequency of apoptosis was higher (P < 0.05). However, the rates of induced DNA damage and repair were significantly higher in the case group (P < 0.05). Smaller number of micronuclei and higher levels of apoptosis in the case group could be the result of higher resistance to radiation stress and a more rigorous checkpoint at cell division. However, regarding the alkaline labile sites, the individuals in the case group are more sensitive and susceptible to DNA damage. The results of micronuclei, apoptosis and repair studies suggest that an adaptive response might be induced in people residing in areas with high background radiation.

Cancer patients' responses to radiotherapy vary in severity. It has been suggested that it may be due to differences in intrinsic cellular radiosensitivity. Prediction of tissue reactions to radiotherapy would permit tailoring of dosage to each patient. Towards this goal the micronucleus and apoptosis tests have been proposed as methods for measurement of chromosomal damage in peripheral blood lymphocytes. In this study, gamma-ray sensitivity of cultured lymphocytes of 26 breast cancer patients with early or late reactions was investigated. After irradiation with 4 Gy gamma radiation in G 0 , the frequency of micronuclei for patients with early reactions was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than for patients with late reactions. In the contrary the frequency of apoptosis for patients with early reactions was significantly lower (P < 0.05) than in the other group. It could be suggested that such a reduced amount of micronuclei in the late effects group is due to the presence of some residual DNA damages which are not completely repaired and lesions show increasing severity when the patients' cells are irradiated again. These induced damages, probably are high enough to stimulate other endpoints like apoptosis instead of micronuclei.