How To Take Potassium Iodide As A Preventative Against Damage Or Cancer Caused by Radiation From Radioactive Iodine

Per Wikipedia; “A common treatment method for preventing iodine-131 exposure is by saturating the thyroid with regular, non-radioactive iodine-127, as an iodide oriodate salt. Free elemental iodine should not be used for saturating the thyroid because it is a corrosive oxidant and therefore is toxic to ingest in the necessary quantities. The thyroid will absorb very little of the radioactive iodine-131 after it is saturated with non-radioactive iodide, thereby avoiding the damage caused by radiation from radioiodine.

The most common method of treatment is to give potassium iodide to those at risk. The dosage for adults is 130 mg potassium iodide per day, given in one dose, or divided into portions of 65 mg twice a day.

This is equivalent to 100 mg of iodide, and is about 7000 times bigger than the nutritional dose of iodide, which is 0.015 mg per day (150 micrograms per day). Seepotassium iodide for more information on prevention of radioiodine absorption by the thyroid during nuclear accident, or for nuclear medical reasons.

The FDA-approved dosing of potassium iodide for this purpose are as follows: infants less than 1 month old, 16 mg; children 1 month to 3 years, 32 mg; children 3 years to 18 years, 65 mg; adults 130 mg.[18] However, some sources recommend alternative dosing regimens.[19]

The World Health Organizations daily recommended Dosage for Radiological Emergencies involving radioactive iodine^[20]
Age	KI in mg	KIO₃ in mg
Over 12 years old	130	170
3 – 12 years old	65	85
1 – 36 months old	32	42
< 1 month old	16	21

The ingestion of prophylaxis iodide and/or iodate is not without its dangers, There is reason for caution about taking potassium iodide or iodine supplements, as their unnecessary use can cause conditions such as the Jod-Basedow phenomena, and the Wolff-Chaikoff effect, trigger and/or worsen hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism respectively, and ultimately cause temporary or even permanent thyroid conditions.

Dr. Wartofsky warned that taking preventative iodine tablets or liquid without a doctors supervision could cause serious reactions. The drug can induce severe hypothyroidism, or even worse things…“’It is inappropriate, foolhardy and dangerous to be taking iodine supplements at this time,’ Wartofsky said. ‘It’s very important to hold off until it’s absolutely necessary.’…”

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/42135438/#.UnKC5FMwJac

It can also cause sialadenitis (an inflammation of the salivary gland), gastrointestinal disturbances, allergic reactions and rashes. Potassium iodide is also not recommended for those who have had an allergic reaction to iodine, and people with dermatitis herpetiformis and hypocomplementemic vasculitis, conditions that are linked to a risk of iodine sensitivity.[21]

The use of a particular ‘Iodine tablet’ used in portable water purification has also been determined as somewhat effective at reducing radioiodine uptake. In a small study on human subjects, who for each of their 90 day trial, ingested four 20 milligram tetraglycine hydroperiodide(TGHP) water tablets, with each tablet releasing 8 milligrams (ppm) of free titratable iodine;[22] it was found that the biological uptake of radioactive iodine in these human subjects dropped to, and remained at, a value of less than 2% the radioiodine uptake rate of that observed in control subjects who went fully exposed to radioiodine without treatment.[23]

The administration of known goitrogen substances can also be used as a prophylaxis in reducing the bio-uptake of iodine, (whether it be the nutritional non-radioactive iodine-127 or radioactive iodine, radioiodine – most commonly iodine-131, as the body cannot discern between different iodine isotopes).

Perchlorate ions, a common water contaminant in the USA due to the aerospace industry, has been shown to reduce iodine uptake and thus is classified as a goitrogen. Perchlorate ions are a competitive inhibitor of the process by which iodide, is actively deposited into thyroid follicular cells.

Studies involving healthy adult volunteers determined that at levels above 0.007 milligrams per kilogram per day (mg/(kg·d)), perchlorate begins to temporarily inhibit the thyroid gland’s ability to absorb iodine from the bloodstream (“iodide uptake inhibition”, thus perchlorate is a known goitrogen).[24]

The reduction of the iodide pool by perchlorate has dual effects—reduction of excess hormone synthesis and hyperthyroidism, on the one hand, and reduction of thyroid inhibitor synthesis and hypothyroidism on the other. Perchlorate remains very useful as a single dose application in tests measuring the discharge of radioiodide accumulated in the thyroid as a result of many different disruptions in the further metabolism of iodide in the thyroid gland.[25]

Treatment of thyrotoxicosis (including Graves’ disease) with 600-2,000 mg potassium perchlorate (430-1,400 mg perchlorate) daily for periods of several months or longer was once common practice, particularly in Europe,[24][26] and perchlorate use at lower doses to treat thryoid problems continues to this day.[27] Although 400 mg of potassium perchlorate divided into four or five daily doses was used initially and found effective, higher doses were introduced when 400 mg/day was discovered not to control thyrotoxicosis in all subjects.[24][25]

Prophylaxis with perchlorate containing water at concentrations of 17 ppm, which corresponds to 0.5 mg/kg-day personal intake, if one is 70 kg and consumes two litres of water per day, was found to reduce baseline radioiodine uptake by 67%[24] This is equivalent to ingesting a total of just 35 mg of perchlorate ions per day. In another related study were subjects drank just 1 litre of perchlorate containing water per day at a concentration of 10 ppm, i.e. daily 10 mg of perchlorate ions were ingested, an average 38% reduction in the uptake of iodine was observed.[29]

However when the average perchlorate absorption in perchlorate plant workers subjected to the highest exposure has been estimated as approximately 0.5 mg/kg-day, as in the above paragraph, a 67% reduction of iodine uptake would be expected. Studies of chronically exposed workers though have thus far failed to detect any abnormalities of thyroid function, including the uptake of iodine.[30] this may well be attributable to sufficient daily exposure or intake of healthy iodine-127 among the workers and the short 8 hr biological half life of perchlorate in the body.[24]

To completely block the uptake of iodine-131 by the purposeful addition of perchlorate ions to a populaces water supply, aiming at dosages of 0.5 mg/kg-day, or a water concentration of 17 ppm, would therefore be grossly inadequate at truly reducing radioiodine uptake. Perchlorate ion concentrations in a regions water supply, would therefore need to be much higher, with at least a total dosage of 7.15 mg/kg of body weight per day needing to be aimed for, with this being achievable for most adults by consuming 2 liters of water per day with a water concentration of 250 mg/kg of water or 250 ppm of perchlorate ions per liter, only at this level would perchlorate consumption offer adequate protection, and be truly beneficial to the population at preventing bioaccumulation when exposed to a radioiodine environment.[24][28] This being entirely independent of the availability of iodate or iodide drugs.

The continual addition of perchlorate to the water supply would need to continue for no less than 80–90 days, beginning immediately after the initial release of radioiodine was detected, after 80–90 days had passed released radioactive iodine-131 would have decayed to less than 0.1% of its initial quantity and thus the danger from biouptake of iodine-131 is essentially over.[31]

In the event of a radioiodine release the ingestion of prophylaxis potassium iodide or iodate, if available, would rightly take precedence over perchlorate administration and would be the first line of defense in protecting the population from a radioiodine release. However in the event of a radioiodine release too massive and widespread to be controlled by the limited stock of iodide & iodate prophylaxis drugs, then the addition of perchlorate ions to the water supply, or distribution of perchlorate tablets would serve as a cheap, efficacious, second line of defense against carcinogenic radioiodine bioaccumulation.

The ingestion of goitrogen drugs is, much like potassium iodide is also not without its dangers, such as hypothyroidism. In all these cases however, despite the risks, the prophylaxis benefits of intervention with iodide, iodate or perchlorate outweigh the serious cancer risk from radioiodine bioaccumulation in regions were radioiodine has sufficiently contaminatated the environment.”