Concerted Uranium Research In Europe (Cure): Building A Collaborative Research Protocol Integrating Epidemiology, Dosimetry And Radiobiology.

Abstract

Introduction The health effects of chronic exposure to uranium are not well known. Experimental studies have reported impairments of cerebral function, genotoxic, nephrotoxic and other biological effects, but the implications of these findings to human health are not clear. Most epidemiological studies carried out to date have major limitations (e.g.: dosimetry, power). New studies making use of modern biology approaches and enhanced epidemiological datasets are needed to have a higher potential to improve the characterization of the biological and health effects of uranium exposure. Methods CURE (Concerted Uranium Research in Europe) was an 18-month concerted action supported by the European Commission Network of Excellence DoReMi (http://www.doremi-noe.net/), involving 9 European Institutes. It aimed to elaborate a collaborative research project on the biological and health effects of uranium contamination, integrating epidemiology, biology and dosimetry. A work-package was dedicated to each of these di...