Use of gastrointestinally administered porous enteron sorbent polymers to prevent or treat radiation induced mucositis, esophagitis, enteritis, colitis, and gastrointestinal acute radiation syndrome

1. A method of treating acute or chronic oral mucositis, esophagitis, enteritis, colitis, or gastrointestinal acute radiation syndrome (GI-ARS) caused by radiation exposure comprising the gastrointestinal administration of one or more enteron sorbent polymers; wherein said enteron sorbent polymer is characterized as having a pore structure having a total volume of pore sizes in the range of from 10 Å to 250,000 Å greater than 0.3 cc/g to 3.0 cc/g dry polymer; wherein the ratio of pore volume between 10 Å to 250,000 Å in diameter to pore volume between 250 Å to 250,000 Å in diameter of the cross-linked polymeric material is smaller than 7:1 and wherein the ratio of pore volume between 10 Å to 250,000 Å in diameter to pore volume between 50 Å to 250,000 Å in diameter of the cross-linked polymeric material is less than 2:1.

2. The method of claim 1 where the enteron sorbent polymers are used to treat complications of radiation cancer therapy.

3. The method of claim 1 where the source of radiation is gamma radiation, X-rays, or cosmic radiation, transmitted via radiation or through contamination of the air, food, or water.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said enteron sorbent polymer comprises cross-linked polymeric material derived from the reaction of a cross-linker with one or more of the following polymerizable monomers: styrene, ethylstyrene, acrylonitrile, butyl methacrylate, octyl methacrylate, butyl acrylate, octyl acrylate, cetyl methacrylate, cetyl acrylate, ethyl methacrylate, ethyl acrylate, vinyltoluene, vinylnaphthalene, vinylbenzyl alcohol, vinylformamide, methyl methacrylate, and methyl acrylate.

5. The method of claim 1 where the enteron sorbent polymers are administered via capsule, tablet, salve, poultice, in slurry form, suppository, or enema, via oral, rectal, nasogastric or gastric tube, or ostomy routes.

6. The method of claim 1 where the enteron sorbent polymers remove inflammatory mediators, cytokines, superantigens, monokines, chemokines, interferons, free radicals, proteases, arachidonic acid metabolites, prostacyclins, beta endorphins, anandimide, 2-arachadonylglycerol, tetrahydrobiopterin, serotonin, histamine, bradykinin, soluble CD40 ligand, bioactive lipids, oxidized lipids, cell-free hemoglobin, growth factors, glycoproteins, prions, toxins, bacterial and viral toxins, endotoxins, drugs, vasoactive substances, foreign antigens, and antibodies from the gut lumen.

7. The method of claim 1 where the enteron sorbent polymers are biocompatible.

8. The method of claim 1 where the enteron sorbent polymers are in the form of a powder, suspension, beads or other regularly or irregularly shaped particulates.

9. The method of claim 1 where the enteron sorbent polymers have a diameter in the range of 0.1 microns to 2 centimeters.

10. The method of claim 1 , where the enteron sorbent polymers treat gastrointestinal mucosal disruption, facilitate healing of the gastrointestinal mucosa, or both.

11. The method of claim 1 where the enteron sorbent polymer reduces intestinal inflammation, reduces gut permeability, reduces bacterial, endotoxin, and toxin translocation from the gut lumen to the body, reduces the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), and reduces sepsis.

12. The method of claim 1 where the enteron sorbent polymers reduce the risk of Heme acute radiation syndrome (Heme-ARS), Delayed Effects of Acute Radiation Exposure (DEARE), or the effects of acute radiation syndrome on other organs.

13. The method of claim 1 where the enteron sorbent polymers improve survival in GI-ARS or acute radiation enteritis or colitis.

14. The method of claim 1 where the enteron sorbent polymers reduce symptoms comprising weight loss, diarrhea, vomiting, pain, fluid loss in GI-ARS or acute radiation enteritis or colitis.

15. The method of claim 1 where the enteron sorbent polymers are gamma radiation stable.

16. The method of claim 1 where the enteron sorbent polymers are gamma radiation stable and can be administered prior or concurrently to radiotherapy.

17. The method of claim 1 where the enteron sorbent polymers do not absorb or minimally absorb radiation (radiolucent) and therefore do not affect the radiotherapy dose to treat diseases.

18. The method of claim 1 where the enteron sorbent polymers absorb radiation (radiopaque) and provide additional radioprotection.

19. The method of claim 1 where the enteron sorbent polymers function as radioprotectants that enable higher and potentially more effective doses of radiotherapy, or more doses of radiotherapy, to treat cancer while mitigating acute radiation enteritis or colitis.

20. The method of claim 1 where the enteron sorbent polymers are used for the treatment of complications related absorb radiation (radiopaque) and provide additional radioprotection.

21. The method of claim 1 where said treating is directed to acute or chronic oral mucositis, esophagitis, enteritis, or gastrointestinal acute radiation syndrome (GI-ARS).