Abstract
The effects of brain irradiation (10 Gy) on the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) were examined in the cerebrum of male rats. The SOD activity was significantly decreased immediately after irradiation and returned to control level one hour later. The SOD activity was significantly decreased, two hours after irradiation, again and returned to control level three hours after irradiation. No siginificant change of the SOD activity was observed between the 1 st and 14 th days. These results indicate that 60Co γ ray irradiation affects SOD activity transiently within 3 hours after irradiation. When rats were treated with intraperitoneal injection of 10 mg bovine SOD one hour before irradiation, no significant decrease of SOD activity was detected. Exogenous SOD may prevent the decrease of endogenous SOD activity after irradiation.
