Problems of Radiation Medicine and Radiobiology

P. A. Fedirko¹, T. F. Babenko¹, M. Pilmane², N. V. Medvedovska³, A. Junga², Zh. S. Yaroshenko¹,
R. Yu. Dorichevska¹, N. A. Garkava⁴

¹State Institution «National Research Center for Radiation Medicine, Hematology and Oncology of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine», 53 Yuriia Illienka St., Kyiv, 04050, Ukraine
²Institute of Anatomy and Anthropology, Riga Stradzins University, 16 Dzircina St., Riga, LV 1007, Latvia ³National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine, 12 Herzen St., Kyiv, 05050, Ukraine
⁴«Dnipromedinvest» LLC, 123d Naberezhna Zavodska St., Dnipro, 49000, Ukraine

CURRENT ACHIEVEMENTS AND TOPICAL ISSUES IN RADIATION OPHTHALMOLOGY: POST-CHORNOBYL EXPERIENCE

The Chornobyl disaster – a large'scale nuclear accident that caused significant radiation exposure to large populations of people. The work of ophthalmologists who studied its consequences radically changed scientists’ understanding of the effects of ionizing radiation on the organ of vision. Before the Chornobyl accident, it was widely believed that the organ of vision was relatively resistant to the effects of ionizing radiation. It was thought that the most likely effect of radiation exposure was radiation cataracts, which were considered a deterministic effect.
The objective of this study is analyze epidemiological, clinical, and experimental data on the ophthalmological effects of radiation obtained after the Chоrnobyl disaster.
Materials and methods. The criteria for inclusion in the analytical review were peer'reviewed publications in the scientometric databases PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, and manually selected works devoted to the study of the ophthalmological consequences of the Chornobyl disaster, other radiation incidents, and the consequences of occupational radiation exposure, published in the period after the Chornobyl disaster.
Results. Studies conducted after the Chornobyl disaster have significantly changed the understanding of the effects of ionizing radiation on the vision organ. It has been shown that the eye is extremely sensitive to radiation exposure and is one of the most vulnerable structures of the body. Analyzing the results of long'term post'Chornobyl studies, we can distinguish four groups of ophthalmological diseases that occur in people affected by the Chornobyl disaster: the first group is specific radiation damage to the eye, the appearance of which is possible only as a result of ionizing radiation exposure; the second group is diseases that under normal conditions occur mainly in elderly people and the development of which is accelerated as a result of radiation exposure; the third group is functional changes that were detected in radiation'exposed people; and the fourth group includes effects that occurred in people irradiated in utero.
Key words: Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident; ionizing radiation; eye; organ of vision; cataract; age'related macular degeneration; morphological changes; small vessel disease; functional changes; pigment epithelium; strabismus; accommodation.

Problems of Radiation Medicine and Radiobiology.
2025;30:126-142. doi: 10.33145/2304-8336-2025-30-126-142

full text