The Cytome Assay as a Tool to Investigate the Possible Association Between Exposure to Extremely Low Frequency Magnetic Fields and an Increased Risk for Alzheimer's Disease.
Maes A, Anthonissen R, Wambacq S, Simons K, Verschaeve L. · 2016
View Original AbstractLaboratory study shows power frequency magnetic fields above 50 microtesla cause genetic damage patterns identical to those found in Alzheimer's patients.
Plain English Summary
Scientists exposed cells to 50 Hz magnetic fields from power lines at levels above 50 microtesla and found genetic damage patterns similar to Alzheimer's patients. The exposure caused chromosome instability in cells, suggesting a possible biological link between power line magnetic fields and Alzheimer's disease development.
Why This Matters
This study adds important mechanistic evidence to the growing body of research connecting extremely low frequency magnetic field exposure to neurodegenerative disease. The 50 microtesla exposure level that produced genetic damage is significant because it's within the range of exposures you might encounter living near power lines or using certain electrical appliances. What makes this research particularly compelling is that it identifies a specific biological pathway - chromosome instability - that could explain how EMF exposure might contribute to Alzheimer's disease development. While the researchers appropriately note their findings are preliminary, this type of cellular evidence helps bridge the gap between epidemiological studies showing increased Alzheimer's risk near power lines and the biological mechanisms that could explain such associations.
Exposure Details
- Magnetic Field
- 0.05 mG
- Source/Device
- 50 Hz
Exposure Context
This study used 0.05 mG for magnetic fields:
- 2.5Kx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.2 mG
- 500x above the BioInitiative Report recommendation of 1 mG
Building Biology guidelines are practitioner-based limits from real-world assessments. BioInitiative Report recommendations are based on peer-reviewed science. Check Your Exposure to compare your own measurements.
Where This Falls on the Concern Scale
Study Details
We have performed an in vitro cytogenetic laboratory investigation to explore the plausibility of such association.
Our investigation was based on possible similarities found in cells from AD patients and in cells ex...
We especially found that 50 Hz ELF-MF increase the frequency of cells with (large) micronuclei and n...
Our findings certainly do not prove anything. They only suggest that further investigations might be necessary.
Show BibTeX
@article{a_2016_the_cytome_assay_as_681,
author = {Maes A and Anthonissen R and Wambacq S and Simons K and Verschaeve L.},
title = {The Cytome Assay as a Tool to Investigate the Possible Association Between Exposure to Extremely Low Frequency Magnetic Fields and an Increased Risk for Alzheimer's Disease.},
year = {2016},
url = {https://content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-alzheimers-disease/jad150669},
}