Efficacy of ethane-1-hydroxy-1, 1-bisphosphonate (EHBP) for the decorporation of uranium after intramuscular contamination in rats

Purpose: To obtain compounds that will effectively reduce the fixation of uranium in its main target organs: bone and kidney. There is an urgent need for a chelating agent that is suitable and available for human use. Materials and methods: The efficacy of ethane-1-hydroxy-1, 1- bisphosphonate (EHBP), already in use as a therapeutic agent, was investigated in animal experiments. The effect of different treatment regimens was investigated on rats (EHBP: 50-100 mu mol kg-1; ligand/uranium ratio 2500 to 5000). Results: The present study shows that one prompt injection of EHBP reduced uranium deposition in kidneys by a factor of five after acute intramuscular contamination in rats. At the same time, the total body uranium in the treated animals was 70% of controls. When the treatment was delayed 30min after contamination, the kidney content was still reduced by a factor of two. Conclusions: EHBP has the advantage of clinical acceptance as a therapeutic agent for other purposes and its toxicity has been well studied. It therefore has a role in the treatment of human contamination with uranium.