A STOCHASTIC-MODEL OF HORMESIS

In order to describe the life-prolonging effect of some agents that are harmful at higher doses, ionizing radiations in particular, a stochastic model is developed in terms of accumulation and progression of intracellular lesions caused by the environment and by the agent itself. The processes of lesion repair, operating at the molecular and cellular level, are assumed to be responsible for this hormesis effect within the framework of the proposed model. Properties of lifetime distributions, derived for analysis of animal experiments with prolonged and acute irradiation, are given special attention. The model provides efficient means of interpreting experimental findings, as evidenced by its application to analysis of some published data on the hormetic effects of prolonged irradiation and of procaine on animal longevity.