Cataractogenesis following high-LET radiation exposure

Hamada, Nobuyuki*; Sato, Tatsuhiko   

From the radiation protection viewpoint, the ocular lens is among the most radiosensitive tissues in the body, and cataract is classified as tissue reactions with a threshold below which no effect would occur. After 2011, the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) has recommended an equivalent dose limit for the lens to 20 mSv/year. Although such reduction of the threshold was based on findings from low-LET radiation, the dose limit was recommended in Sv. This review is thus designed to provide an update on the current knowledge as to high-LET radiation cataractogenesis. To this end, changes in ICRP recommendations on lenticular radiation protection, epidemiological and biological findings on high-LET cataractogenesis are reviewed, and future research needs are then discussed.