Effects of mobile phone use on brain tissue from the rat and a possible protective role of vitamin C - a preliminary study.
Imge EB, Kiliçoğlu B, Devrim E, Cetin R, Durak I · 2010
View Original AbstractCell phone radiation disrupted brain protective enzymes in rats, but vitamin C helped restore them, suggesting oxidative stress as a key damage pathway.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed rats to cell phone radiation (900 MHz) for four weeks and measured changes in brain tissue chemistry. They found that phone radiation reduced the activity of key protective enzymes in the brain, but vitamin C supplementation helped restore these protective mechanisms. This suggests that cell phone radiation may stress brain cells through oxidative damage, but antioxidants might offer some protection.
Why This Matters
This study adds to the growing body of evidence showing that cell phone radiation can disrupt normal brain chemistry at the cellular level. The exposure level (SAR 0.95 W/kg) falls within the range of typical phone use, making these findings particularly relevant for everyday users. What's especially significant is that the researchers identified a specific biological mechanism - the disruption of antioxidant enzymes that normally protect brain cells from damage. The fact that vitamin C supplementation helped restore these protective mechanisms suggests the damage operates through oxidative stress pathways. While this was an animal study, it provides important mechanistic insights into how RF radiation might affect human brain tissue during regular phone use.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 0.95 W/kg
- Source/Device
- 900 MHz Mobie phone
- Exposure Duration
- 4 weeks - mobile phone in stand-by mode, four calls a day for 10 minutes.
Exposure Context
This study used 0.95 W/kg for SAR (device absorption):
- 2.4x above the Building Biology guideline of 0.4 W/kg
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
To evaluate effects of mobile phone use on brain tissue and a possible protective role of vitamin C.
Forty female rats were divided into four groups randomly (Control, mobile phone, mobile phone plus v...
Mobile phone use caused an inhibition in 5'-NT and CAT activities as compared to the control group. ...
Our results suggest that vitamin C may play a protective role against detrimental effects of mobile phone radiation in brain tissue.
Show BibTeX
@article{eb_2010_effects_of_mobile_phone_110,
author = {Imge EB and Kiliçoğlu B and Devrim E and Cetin R and Durak I},
title = {Effects of mobile phone use on brain tissue from the rat and a possible protective role of vitamin C - a preliminary study.},
year = {2010},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20698742/},
}