Exposure to electromagnetic field attenuates oxygen-glucose deprivation-induced microglial cell death by reducing intracellular Ca2+ and ROS.
Duong CN, Kim JY · 2016
View Original AbstractLaboratory study shows 50 Hz magnetic fields at therapeutic levels can protect brain cells from oxygen deprivation damage.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed human brain immune cells to magnetic fields at 50 Hz while depriving them of oxygen to mimic stroke conditions. The magnetic field exposure protected cells from dying by reducing harmful calcium and oxidative stress, suggesting potential therapeutic applications for stroke treatment.
Why This Matters
This research presents an intriguing paradox in EMF science. While most studies focus on potential harmful effects of electromagnetic fields, this laboratory study suggests that specific frequencies and intensities might actually protect brain cells under certain conditions. The 1 mT magnetic field strength used here is significantly stronger than typical household exposures (which range from 0.01 to 0.2 mT near appliances), indicating this was a controlled therapeutic-level exposure rather than everyday environmental EMF. What makes this study particularly interesting is its precision - only the 50 Hz frequency at 1 mT showed strong protective effects, while other combinations provided little to no benefit. This specificity suggests that EMF bioeffects are highly dependent on exact parameters, not just presence or absence of fields. The findings add to growing evidence that EMF interactions with biological systems are far more nuanced than simple 'harmful' or 'harmless' categories suggest.
Exposure Details
- Magnetic Field
- 1 mG
- Source/Device
- 10, 50, or 100 Hz
- Exposure Duration
- 4 hours
Exposure Context
This study used 1 mG for magnetic fields:
- 50Kx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.2 mG
- 10Kx 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
The aim of this research was to demonstrate the protective effects of electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure on the human microglial cell line, HMO6, against ischemic cell death induced by in vitro oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD).
HMO6 cells were cultured for 4 h under OGD with or without exposure to EMF with different combinatio...
OGD caused significant HMO6 cell death as well as elevation of intracellular Ca2+ and ROS levels. Am...
50 Hz/1 mT EMF protects human microglial cells from OGD-induced cell death by interfering with OGD-induced elevation of intracellular Ca2+ and ROS levels, and xanthine oxidase is one of the main mediators involved in OGD-induced HMO6 cell death. Non-invasive treatment of EMF radiation may be clinically useful to attenuate hypoxic-ischemic brain injury.
Show BibTeX
@article{cn_2016_exposure_to_electromagnetic_field_351,
author = {Duong CN and Kim JY},
title = {Exposure to electromagnetic field attenuates oxygen-glucose deprivation-induced microglial cell death by reducing intracellular Ca2+ and ROS.},
year = {2016},
doi = {10.3109/09553002.2016.1136851},
url = {https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/09553002.2016.1136851},
}