Repurposing sodium diclofenac as a radiation countermeasure agent: A cytogenetic study in human peripheral blood lymphocytes.

We assessed the radioprotective and mitigative actions of sodium diclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug using cultured human peripheral blood as a model. Both pre- and post-irradiation treatments with the drug reduced gamma radiation-induced formation of dicentric chromosome, cytochalasin-blocked micronuclei and γ-H2AX foci in human peripheral blood lymphocytes. This work supports the concept that sodium diclofenac may be a useful radiation countermeasure agent.