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Mobile and cordless telephones, serum transthyretin and the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier: a cross-sectional study

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Söderqvist F, Carlberg M, Hardell L · 2009

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Mobile phone use altered levels of a key brain-protective protein, suggesting wireless radiation may compromise the blood-brain barrier.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Swedish researchers studied 1,000 people to see if mobile and cordless phone use affected transthyretin, a protein that helps protect the brain by maintaining the blood-brain barrier. They found that long-term phone users had altered levels of this protective protein, with different patterns for men and women, and that recent phone calls appeared to trigger immediate changes in women's blood protein levels.

Why This Matters

This study reveals something concerning about wireless phones and brain protection that deserves attention. Transthyretin helps maintain the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier, which acts like a security system protecting your brain from harmful substances. The finding that phone use alters this protein suggests wireless radiation may be compromising one of your brain's key protective mechanisms. What makes this particularly noteworthy is that the effects varied by phone technology - older analog phones and newer UMTS phones showed opposite patterns, indicating that different types of wireless radiation may affect brain protection differently. The immediate changes seen in women after recent phone calls suggest these aren't just long-term cumulative effects, but acute responses to radiation exposure. While this was a descriptive study generating hypotheses rather than proving causation, it adds to growing evidence that wireless radiation affects biological systems we depend on for brain health.

Exposure Information

Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.

Study Details

In this cross-sectional study we tested whether long-term and/or short-term use of wireless telephones was associated with changes in the serum transthyretin level, indicating altered transthyretin concentration in the cerebrospinal fluid, possibly reflecting an effect of radiation.

One thousand subjects, 500 of each sex aged 18–65 years, were randomly recruited using the populatio...

The response rate was 31.4%. Logistic regression of dichotomized TTR serum levels with a cut-point o...

In this hypothesis-generating descriptive study time since first use of mobile telephones and DECT combined was significantly associated with higher TTR levels regardless of how much each telephone type had been used. Regarding short-term use, significantly higher TTR concentrations were seen in women the sooner blood was withdrawn after the most recent telephone call on that day.

Cite This Study
Söderqvist F, Carlberg M, Hardell L (2009). Mobile and cordless telephones, serum transthyretin and the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier: a cross-sectional study Environ Health. 21; 8:19, 2009.
Show BibTeX
@article{f_2009_mobile_and_cordless_telephones_1536,
  author = {Söderqvist F and Carlberg M and Hardell L},
  title = {Mobile and cordless telephones, serum transthyretin and the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier: a cross-sectional study},
  year = {2009},
  doi = {10.1186/1476-069X-8-19},
  url = {https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/1476-069X-8-19},
}
DOI: 10.1186/1476-069X-8-19

Cited By (20 papers)

Quick Questions About This Study

Swedish research found that long-term mobile and cordless phone users had altered levels of transthyretin, a protein that helps maintain the blood-brain barrier. The study of 1,000 people showed different patterns for men and women, suggesting phone radiation may impact this protective brain barrier.
A 2009 study found that mobile and cordless phone use was associated with changes in transthyretin, a protective brain protein. Men showed higher protein levels with longer phone use, while women had immediate protein changes after recent phone calls.
Research indicates cordless phones may affect brain-protective proteins. A Swedish study found that combined mobile and cordless phone use altered transthyretin levels, with men showing higher concentrations after long-term use and women experiencing immediate changes after recent calls.
Cell phone use appears to alter transthyretin, a protein that helps protect the brain by maintaining the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier. Swedish researchers found different effects in men and women, with long-term users showing significant changes in this protective protein.
Wireless phone use may compromise brain protection by altering transthyretin levels. A study of 1,000 people found that long-term mobile and cordless phone users had changed levels of this protein that helps maintain the blood-brain barrier's protective function.