Bisphosphonates as chelating agents in uranium poisoning

Abstract

The study of uranium toxicity is very important for public health in general andespecially for workers involved in the processes of uranium mining and millingbecause of the immediate and/or mediate risks of exposure. Most available studiesshow unsuccessful attempts to eliminate uranium from target organs once thepoisoning has occurred. Our group has managed to avoid damage to target organs(short-term kidney and long-term bone damage) in a high percentage of animalstreated with lethal doses of uranyl nitrate through the effective chelating action of asingle dose of bisodic etidronate. In this context, the contributions of our team andother groups working on chelating therapies provide a starting point for progress inthe search for agents for preventing and/or reducing the toxic effects of uranium