Neuroprotective effects of sevoflurane against electromagnetic pulse-induced brain injury through inhibition of neuronal oxidative stress and apoptosis.
Deng B, Xu H, Zhang J, Wang J, Han LC, Li LY, Wu GL, Hou YN, Guo GZ, Wang Q, Sang HF, Xu LX. · 2014
View Original AbstractEMP radiation caused brain damage and memory problems in rats, but protective treatment prevented the harm.
Plain English Summary
Chinese researchers exposed rats to electromagnetic pulse (EMP) radiation and found it caused brain damage, including neuronal death and learning problems. When they treated the rats with sevoflurane (an anesthetic gas), it protected against this brain damage by reducing oxidative stress and preventing brain cell death. This suggests that electromagnetic pulses can harm brain function, but also that protective treatments might be possible.
Why This Matters
This study provides important evidence that electromagnetic pulse exposure can cause measurable brain damage in laboratory animals. The researchers used an electric field strength of 400,000 V/m, which is far higher than typical everyday EMF exposures but relevant for understanding how intense electromagnetic fields affect neural tissue. What makes this research particularly significant is that it demonstrates both the biological mechanism of EMF-induced brain damage (oxidative stress leading to cell death) and shows this damage is preventable with appropriate intervention. While sevoflurane isn't a practical daily protection strategy, this research validates concerns about EMF effects on brain tissue and suggests that antioxidant approaches might offer protection. The science demonstrates that electromagnetic fields can indeed cause neurological harm when exposure levels are sufficiently high.
Exposure Details
- Electric Field
- 400000 V/m
Exposure Context
This study used 400000 V/m for electric fields:
- 1.3Mx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.3 V/m
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.
Study Details
We investigated the effects of sevoflurane on EMP-induced brain injury.
Rats were exposed to EMP and immediately treated with sevoflurane. The protective effects of sevoflu...
The cerebral cortexes of EMP-exposed rats presented neuronal abnormalities. Sevoflurane alleviated t...
These findings demonstrate that Sevoflurane conferred neuroprotective effects against EMP radiation-induced brain damage by inhibiting neuronal oxidative stress and apoptosis.
Show BibTeX
@article{b_2014_neuroprotective_effects_of_sevoflurane_344,
author = {Deng B and Xu H and Zhang J and Wang J and Han LC and Li LY and Wu GL and Hou YN and Guo GZ and Wang Q and Sang HF and Xu LX.},
title = {Neuroprotective effects of sevoflurane against electromagnetic pulse-induced brain injury through inhibition of neuronal oxidative stress and apoptosis.},
year = {2014},
url = {https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0091019},
}