The effect of ionizing radiation at superhigh dosages on the ATP content in the rat brain

The ATP content of rat brain was shown to decrease considerably (20-60%) during the first minutes following high-energy electron irradiation with doses of 300 and 500 Gy. A transient nature of changes and a more pronounced decrease in ATP with increasing radiation dose and manifest neurologic disturbances indicate that the energy metabolism is involved in the pathogenesis of early neurologic disturbances in animals.