Why is iodine 131 suitable as a tracer in the body?
About 90% of its radiation damage to tissue is via beta radiation, and the rest occurs via its gamma radiation (at a longer distance from the radioisotope). It can be seen in diagnostic scans after its use as therapy, because 131I is also a gamma-emitter.
What are the properties of iodine 131?
Iodine I-131 is a radioactive isotope of iodine with an atomic mass of 131, a half life of eight days, and potential antineoplastic activity. Selectively accumulating in the thyroid gland, iodine I 131 emits beta and gamma particles, thereby killing thyroid cells and decreasing thyroid hormone production.
Which field is iodine 131 useful?
…radionuclides suitable for metabolic studies, iodine-131 is one of the most widely used. This gamma-ray emitter has a half-life of eight days and concentrates in the thyroid gland, and so provides a measure of thyroid function.
How effective is iodine 131?
Results. The total effective rate of 131I therapy was 88.07% (including a cure rate of 20.64% and an improvement rate of 67.43%). The non-effective rate was 11.93%.
How does iodine 131 affect the body?
People exposed to I-131, especially during childhood, may have an increased risk of thyroid disease, including thyroid cancer. Thyroid cancer is uncommon and is usually curable. Typically, it is a slow-growing cancer that is highly treatable.
How iodine-131 is used as a tracer?
Radioactive iodine (I-131), an isotope of iodine that emits radiation, is used for medical purposes. When a small dose of I-131 is swallowed, it is absorbed into the bloodstream in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. It is concentrated from the blood by the thyroid gland, where it begins destroying the gland’s cells.
How is iodine-131 formed?
Iodine-131 is an artificially produced fission by-product resulting from nuclear weapons, above-ground nuclear testing, and nuclear reactor operations. Iodine-131 is found in the gaseous and liquid waste streams of nuclear power plants, but is not released to the environment during normal reactor operations.
How is iodine 131 created?
How does iodine-131 work?
How is iodine-131 used?
I-131 is used in medicine to diagnose and treat cancers of the thyroid gland. Where does it come from? I-131 is produced commercially for medical and industrial uses through nuclear fission. It also is a byproduct of nuclear fission processes in nuclear reactors and weapons testing.
When was iodine 131 used as a tracer?
The isotope had been used since 1942, however, in the treatment of thyroid cancer. Though used in low doses for medical examinations, iodine 131 is an ideal tracer for use in humans. Only a few radioactive atoms need to be inserted into the bloodstream for the iodine path to be accurately monitored.
What is the half life of iodine 131?
characteristics of iodine. In iodine: Occurrence and distribution …exceptionally useful radioactive isotope is iodine-131, which has a half-life of eight days. It is employed in medicine to monitor thyroid gland functioning, to treat goitre and thyroid cancer, and to locate tumours of the brain and of the liver.
How is iodine 131 used to treat thyroid cancer?
Stronger doses of iodine 131 are also used in radioactive therapies aimed at dealing with thyroid cancers. Iodine is inserted into the bloodstream in the same manner, and the short trajectory of the emitted beta particles guarantees that the radiation only affects a comparatively small part of the body.
Who is most sensitive to radioactive iodine 131?
Radioactive iodine toxicity varies greatly with age, with toddlers, young children and adolescents being far more sensitive than adults. In medicine, iodine 131 is primarily used to study the functionning of the thyroid though it can also be employed in the treatment of hyperthyroidism as well as thyroid cancer.
