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Brain & Nervous System

Effect of long-term (2 years) exposure of mouse brains to global system for mobile communication (GSM) radiofrequency fields on astrocytic immunoreactivity.

No Effects Found

Court-Kowalski S, Finnie JW, Manavis J, Blumbergs PC, Helps SC, Vink R. · 2015

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Long-term exposure to 900 MHz RF fields at 4 W/kg did not change astrocytic GFAP immunostaining in mouse brains.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers exposed mice to 900 MHz RF fields at 4 W/kg for 104 weeks, five days per week. Control mice were sham-exposed or freely moving in cages. No change in astrocytic GFAP immunostaining was found in exposed mice compared to controls.

Why This Matters

The study aimed to detect astrocytic activation as a response to neural perturbations. The authors concluded that long-term RF exposure did not produce detectable astrogliosis. Brain tissue was fixed with paraformaldehyde and stained for GFAP at three coronal levels. Immunostaining was quantified using a color deconvolution method under light microscopy.

Exposure Details

SAR
4 W/kg
Source/Device
900 MHz
Exposure Duration
Five successive days per week for 104 weeks

Exposure Context

This study used 4 W/kg for SAR (device absorption):

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 Exposure Level in ContextStudy Exposure Level in ContextThis study: 4 W/kgExtreme Concern - 0.1 W/kgFCC Limit - 1.6 W/kgEffects observed in the Extreme Concern range (Building Biology)This level is 3 times the FCC limit
A logarithmic frequency spectrum from 10 Hz to 100 GHz showing where this study's 900 MHz exposure sits relative to common EMF sources.Where This Frequency Sits on the EMF SpectrumELFVLFLF / MFHF / VHFUHFSHFmm10 Hz100 GHzThis study: 900 MHzPower lines50/60 Hz5G mm28 GHzLogarithmic scale

Study Details

This study was designed to determine whether long-term (2 years) brain exposure to mobile telephone radiofrequency (RF) fields produces any astrocytic activation as these glia react to a wide range of neural perturbations by astrogliosis.

Using a purpose-designed exposure system at 900 MHz, mice were given a single, far-field whole body ...

There was no change in astrocytic GFAP immunostaining in brains after long-term exposure to mobile t...

It was concluded that long-term (2 years) exposure of murine brains to mobile telephone RF fields did not produce any astrocytic reaction (astrogliosis) detectable by GFAP immunostaining.

Cite This Study
Court-Kowalski S, Finnie JW, Manavis J, Blumbergs PC, Helps SC, Vink R. (2015). Effect of long-term (2 years) exposure of mouse brains to global system for mobile communication (GSM) radiofrequency fields on astrocytic immunoreactivity. Bioelectromagnetics. 2015 Feb 20. doi: 10.1002/bem.21891.
Show BibTeX
@article{s_2015_effect_of_longterm_2_2989,
  author = {Court-Kowalski S and Finnie JW and Manavis J and Blumbergs PC and Helps SC and Vink R.},
  title = {Effect of long-term (2 years) exposure of mouse brains to global system for mobile communication (GSM) radiofrequency fields on astrocytic immunoreactivity.},
  year = {2015},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25703451/},
}
PubMed: 25703451

Cited By (11 papers)

Quick Questions About This Study

Mice were exposed to 900 MHz RF fields at 4 W/kg for five days per week over 104 weeks.
Control mice were either sham-exposed or freely moving in cages to account for immobilization stress.
There was no change in astrocytic GFAP immunostaining in exposed mice compared to controls.
Brains were fixed, sectioned at three coronal levels, and immunostained for GFAP. Stained slices were examined by light microscopy and quantified using a color deconvolution method.
The authors concluded that long-term RF exposure did not produce detectable astrogliosis in mouse brains.