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Effects of electromagnetic radiation use on oxidant/antioxidant status and dna turn-over enzyme activities in erythrocytes and heart, kidney, liver, and ovary tissues from rats: possible protective role of Vitamin C.

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Devrim E, Ergüder IB, Kılıçoğlu B, Yaykaşlı E, Cetin R, Durak I. · 2008

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Cell phone frequency radiation caused measurable cellular damage in rat organs, with vitamin C providing partial protection.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers exposed female rats to 900 MHz electromagnetic radiation (the frequency used by cell phones) for 4 weeks and measured markers of cellular damage in their blood and organs. They found significant oxidative stress - essentially cellular damage from harmful molecules called free radicals - in the blood cells and kidneys of exposed rats. When some rats were given vitamin C along with the radiation exposure, it provided partial protection against this cellular damage.

Why This Matters

This study adds to the growing body of evidence that radiofrequency radiation at cell phone frequencies triggers oxidative stress in living tissue. The 900 MHz frequency used here is identical to what many GSM cell phones emit, making these findings directly relevant to human exposure. What makes this research particularly valuable is its comprehensive approach - the researchers didn't just look at one type of tissue, but examined multiple organs to see how EMF exposure affects different parts of the body. The fact that vitamin C provided some protection suggests the damage occurs through well-understood biological pathways involving free radicals. While we can't directly extrapolate from rat studies to humans, oxidative stress is a fundamental mechanism of cellular damage that's consistent across species. The reality is that your body may be experiencing similar stress from daily cell phone use, and this research suggests that antioxidant support might help mitigate some of that damage.

Exposure Information

Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.

Study Details

In this study, the aim was to investigate possible effects of Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR) use on oxidant and antioxidant status in erythrocytes and kidney, heart, liver, and ovary tissues from rats, and possible protective role of vitamin C.

For this aim, 40 Wistar albino female rats were used throughout the study. The treatment group was e...

It was observed that MDA level, XO, and GSH-Px activities significantly increased in the EMR group a...

The results suggest that EMR at the frequency generated by a cell phone causes oxidative stress and peroxidation in the erythrocytes and kidney tissues from rats. In the erythrocytes, vitamin C seems to make partial protection against the oxidant stress.

Cite This Study
Devrim E, Ergüder IB, Kılıçoğlu B, Yaykaşlı E, Cetin R, Durak I. (2008). Effects of electromagnetic radiation use on oxidant/antioxidant status and dna turn-over enzyme activities in erythrocytes and heart, kidney, liver, and ovary tissues from rats: possible protective role of Vitamin C. Toxicol Mech Methods.18(9):679-683, 2008.
Show BibTeX
@article{e_2008_effects_of_electromagnetic_radiation_2031,
  author = {Devrim E and Ergüder IB and Kılıçoğlu B and Yaykaşlı E and Cetin R and Durak I.},
  title = {Effects of electromagnetic radiation use on oxidant/antioxidant status and dna turn-over enzyme activities in erythrocytes and heart, kidney, liver, and ovary tissues from rats: possible protective role of Vitamin C.},
  year = {2008},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20020924/},
}

Quick Questions About This Study

Researchers exposed female rats to 900 MHz electromagnetic radiation (the frequency used by cell phones) for 4 weeks and measured markers of cellular damage in their blood and organs. They found significant oxidative stress - essentially cellular damage from harmful molecules called free radicals - in the blood cells and kidneys of exposed rats. When some rats were given vitamin C along with the radiation exposure, it provided partial protection against this cellular damage.