Prochnow N et al. · 2011
Researchers applied UMTS radio-frequency signals to male Wistar rats at whole-brain SAR levels of 0, 2, and 10 W/kg for 120 minutes. They measured stress hormones corticosterone and ACTH and recorded hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD). Cage exposure increased corticosterone and ACTH levels and was associated with generally decreased LTP and LTD. At 2 W/kg the rats showed no difference from sham in LTP and LTD, while at 10 W/kg a significant reduction in both was observed.
Poulletier de Gannes F et al. · 2011
Researchers exposed three human brain cell lines and primary cortical neurons to the EDGE signal at 1800 MHz. Four exposure conditions were tested: 2 and 10 W/kg for 1 and 24 hours. Reactive oxygen species production was measured by flow cytometry using the DCFH-DA probe. All cells tested responded to rotenone treatment by increasing ROS production. The EDGE signal did not induce oxidative stress under any test condition, including at 10 W/kg.
Volkow ND et al. · 2011
Researchers used positron emission tomography to measure brain glucose metabolism in 47 healthy participants, once with the right cell phone activated for 50 minutes and once with both cell phones deactivated. Whole-brain metabolism did not differ between the on and off conditions, but metabolism in the region closest to the antenna was significantly higher in the on condition than the off condition. The researchers noted that this finding is of unknown clinical significance.
Sirav B, Seyhan N · 2011
Researchers exposed male and female Wistar albino rats to 0.9 and 1.8 GHz continuous-wave radiofrequency radiation for 20 minutes to investigate effects on blood-brain barrier permeability. A significant increase in albumin was found in the brains of the RF-exposed male rats when compared to sham-exposed male brains. In female rats, no albumin extravasation was found in the brain after RFR exposure. The researchers noted that these results suggest that exposure at levels below the international limits can affect vascular permeability in the brain of male rats.
Partsvania B, Sulaberidze T, Shoshiashvili L, Modebadze Z · 2011
Researchers exposed single neurons of a mollusk to electromagnetic fields using a Transverse Electromagnetic Cell to study effects on neuron excitability and memory processes. The specific absorption rate deposited into the single neuron was calculated to be 0.63 W/kg with a temperature increment of 0.1°C. After acute exposure, the average firing threshold of action potentials was not changed, but the average latent period was significantly decreased. The researchers noted that the observed alterations were transient and that only the latent period remained at the changed level.
Papageorgiou CC et al. · 2011
Fifteen male and fifteen female subjects, matched for age and education level, were investigated while performing a modified version of the Hayling Sentence Completion test adjusted to induce working memory. ERPs were recorded at 30 scalp electrodes, both without and with exposure to a Wi-Fi signal. Male subjects showed decreased P300 amplitudes compared to female subjects, but only in the presence of Wi-Fi EMF. The researchers concluded that Wi-Fi exposure may exert gender-related alterations on neural activity associated with attentional resources during a linguistic working-memory test.
Ntzouni MP, Stamatakis A, Stylianopoulou F, Margaritis LH. · 2011
Researchers studied the effects of mobile phone electromagnetic fields on a non-spatial memory task called the Object Recognition Task in mice. Three groups of mice were tested under three different radiation exposure protocols, with a SAR value of 0.22 W/kg. Results revealed a major effect on the "chronic exposure-I" protocol, suggesting a possible severe interaction of EMF with the consolidation phase of recognition memory processes.
Noor NA, Mohammed HS, Ahmed NA, Radwan NM · 2011
Masuda H et al. · 2011
The study aimed to detect reproducible responses to local radiofrequency exposure in the parietal cortex of anesthetized rats and to determine their dependence on exposure intensity. The target cortex tissue was locally exposed to 2-GHz RF using a figure-eight loop antenna at averaged specific absorption rates of 10.5, 40.3, 130, and 263 W/kg. All measured parameters except calf hypodermis temperature increased significantly in exposed animals compared with sham-exposed ones during 18-min exposures. The local cerebral blood flow elevation seemed to be driven by the rise in target temperature, but not by rectal temperature, in the early part of RF exposure or at low-intensity RF exposure.
Lowden A et al. · 2011
Researchers investigated the effects of a double-blind radiofrequency exposure on sleepiness and EEG measures during sleep. Forty-eight subjects with a mean age of 28 years underwent three hours of controlled exposure prior to sleep, followed by a full-night polysomnographic recording in a sleep laboratory. Following exposure, slow-wave sleep decreased by 9.5 minutes and the latency to Stage 3 sleep was prolonged by 4.8 minutes compared to sham. No differences were found between subjects who had previously reported mobile phone-related symptoms and those who had not.
Liu ML, Wen JQ, Fan YB. · 2011
Researchers investigated whether green tea polyphenols could protect cultured rat cortical neurons from injury caused by 1800 MHz electromagnetic field exposure from a mobile phone. Mobile phone irradiation for 24 hours induced marked neuronal cell death, as measured by MTT and TUNEL assays. Green tea polyphenols significantly inhibited the radiation-induced increases in active Bax, while total Bax levels showed no marked changes.
Leung S et al. · 2011
This study examined sensory and cognitive processing in adolescents, young adults and older adults when exposed to 2G and 3G mobile phone signals. Forty-one 13–15 year olds, forty-two 19–40 year olds and twenty 55–70 year olds were tested using a double-blind cross-over design, where each participant received Sham, 2G and 3G exposures, separated by at least 4 days. On a memory task, adolescents performed less accurately during 3G exposure compared to Sham, and delayed brainwave responses were found in both 2G and 3G conditions across all age groups.
Kwon MS et al. · 2011
Researchers used positron emission tomography with an 18F-deoxyglucose tracer to investigate the effects of mobile phone radiation on cerebral glucose metabolism in humans. Thirteen young right-handed male subjects were exposed to a pulse-modulated 902.4 MHz Global System for Mobile Communications signal for 33 minutes while performing a simple visual vigilance task. The relative cerebral metabolic rate of glucose was significantly reduced in the temporoparietal junction and anterior temporal lobe of the right hemisphere, on the same side as the exposure. The exposure did not affect task performance, measured by reaction time and error rate.
Kesari KK, Kumar S, Behari J. · 2011
Researchers exposed 35-day old Wistar rats to a mobile phone for 2 hours per day for 45 days at a specific absorption rate of 0.9 W/Kg. Animals were divided into a sham exposed group and an exposed group, each with 6 animals. The exposed group showed a significant decrease in glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase, and a significant increase in reactive oxygen species. The researchers concluded that these findings on biomarkers are clear indications of possible health implications.
Dragicevic N et al. · 2011
Researchers evaluated brain mitochondrial function in aged Alzheimer's transgenic mice and normal littermates following one month of daily EMF exposure. In the transgenic mice, EMF treatment enhanced brain mitochondrial function by 50-150% across six established measures, with the greatest effects in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus. EMF treatment also increased brain mitochondrial function in normal aged mice, though the enhancement was not as robust or widespread as in the transgenic mice. The researchers suggested that brain mitochondrial enhancement may be a primary mechanism through which EMF treatment provides cognitive benefit to both transgenic and normal mice.
Carballo-Quintás M et al. · 2011
Researchers studied the effects of acute 900 MHz GSM radiation exposure on neurotoxic biomarkers c-fos and GFAP in rats also treated with picrotoxin, a seizure-promoting agent. Seventy-two adult male Sprague-Dawley rats underwent immunochemical testing to measure c-fos induction after 90 minutes and 24 hours, and GFAP 72 hours after acute exposure to a 900 MHz electromagnetic field. The results indicated that c-fos and glial markers were triggered by the combined stress of non-thermal irradiation and the toxic effect of picrotoxin on brain tissue.
Trosić I et al. · 2011
Researchers exposed male Wistar rats to 915 MHz radiofrequency radiation with GSM modulation at a whole-body average SAR of 0.6 W/kg for one hour per day, seven days per week over two weeks. A comet assay was used to assess DNA damage, measuring tail length and tail intensity. Tail length notably differed in liver and kidney homogenates of exposed animals compared to sham controls, and the tail was slightly elongated in irradiated animals' brain cells. The results suggest that repeated 915 MHz irradiation could be a cause of DNA breaks in renal and liver cells, but did not affect the cell genome at a higher extent compared to basal damage.
Parazzini M et al. · 2010
Researchers investigated the potential effects of UMTS exposure at a high specific absorption rate on the human auditory system in 73 healthy young adults. Participants received a 20-minute UMTS exposure at 1947 MHz with a maximum SAR of 1.75 W/kg in a double-blind comparison of genuine and sham exposure. No consistent pattern of effects was found on hearing thresholds, otoacoustic emissions, or auditory evoked potentials. The study concluded that short-term UMTS exposure at this SAR does not cause measurable immediate effects on the human auditory system.
The INTERPHONE Study Group. · 2010
An interview-based case-control study with 2708 glioma and 2409 meningioma cases and matched controls was conducted in 13 countries using a common protocol. Ever regular mobile phone use was associated with reduced odds ratios for glioma (OR 0.81, 95% CI 0.70-0.94) and meningioma (OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.68-0.91), possibly reflecting participation bias. No elevated odds ratio was observed 10 or more years after first phone use for either tumor type. In the highest decile of recalled cumulative call time (≥1640 hours), the odds ratio for glioma was 1.40 (95% CI 1.03-1.89) and for meningioma was 1.15 (95% CI 0.81-1.62), but the authors noted implausible values of reported use in this group.
Inskip PD, Hoover RN, Devesa SS. · 2010
Researchers examined temporal trends in brain cancer incidence rates in the United States using SEER program data from 1992 to 2006. Trends were downward or flat for all age groups except 20- to 29-year-olds, where females showed a statistically significant increase. The increase in young women was driven by frontal lobe cancers, while cancers in brain regions more exposed to phone radiation did not increase. The authors concluded that the incidence data do not support the view that cellular phone use causes brain cancer.
Elliott P et al. · 2010
The study was a case-control study using cancer registry and national birth register data in Great Britain with 1397 cases aged 0-4 and 5588 controls matched by sex and date of birth. Mean distance from a macrocell base station, total power output within 700 m, and modelled power density at the birth address were similar for cases and controls. Adjusted odds ratios for all cancers were 1.01 (0.87-1.18) for intermediate and 1.02 (0.88-1.20) for highest modelled power density exposure, with no significant trends for brain and central nervous system cancers or leukaemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Luukkonen J, Juutilainen J, Naarala J. · 2010
Researchers aimed to investigate cooperative effects of 872 MHz RF radiation and ferrous chloride on ROS production and DNA damage in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. They exposed the cells to 872 MHz RF radiation at 5 W/kg SAR using continuous wave or GSM-like modulated signals for 1 hour in ROS experiments and 3 hours in comet assay experiments. Chemical treatments with ferrous chloride produced statistically significant responses, but RF radiation alone or combined with chemicals did not affect ROS production, DNA damage, or cell viability.
O'Connor RP, Madison SD, Leveque P, Roderick HL, Bootman MD · 2010
Researchers used a high-throughput imaging platform to monitor calcium changes in cells exposed to 900 MHz GSM fields at specific absorption rates of 0.012–2 W/kg. The study examined resting calcium, agonist-evoked calcium signals, calcium store emptying, and store-operated calcium entry. GSM field data were compared with continuous wave fields and no-field controls. No changes in calcium signals were detected even at the highest field strengths, which exceeded typical phone exposure levels. The researchers concluded they could not detect any consequence of RF exposure under their experimental conditions.
Kwon MS et al. · 2010
Auditory event-related potentials including P1, N2, mismatch negativity, and P3a were recorded from 17 children aged 11–12 years using the multi-feature paradigm. During recording, an ordinary GSM mobile phone emitting 902 MHz pulsed at 217 Hz was placed on the ear over the left or right temporal area with SAR1g = 1.14 W/kg and SAR10g = 0.82 W/kg. The short exposure of two 6 min blocks per side had no statistically significant effects on the neural change-detection profile measured with MMN. The study only had sufficient statistical power to detect a large effect size.
Kwon MS, Jääskeläinen SK, Toivo T, Hämäläinen H. · 2010
Researchers investigated the effects of a GSM mobile phone electromagnetic field on brainstem auditory processing. Auditory brainstem responses were recorded in 17 healthy young adults at baseline without a phone and then with a phone on the ear under EMF-off and EMF-on conditions. ABR waveforms showed no significant differences due to exposure.
