Effects of GSM and UMTS mobile telephony signals on neuron degeneration and blood-brain barrier permeation in the rat brain.
Poulletier de Gannes F, Masuda H, Billaudel B, Poque-Haro E, Hurtier A, Lévêque P, Ruffié G, Taxile M, Veyret B, Lagroye I. · 2017
View Original AbstractCell phone radiation compromised rats' blood-brain barriers 50 days after exposure, suggesting delayed brain protection damage from intensive phone use.
Plain English Summary
French researchers exposed rats to cell phone radiation (GSM and UMTS signals) for 4 weeks and found that high exposure levels caused the blood-brain barrier to leak 50 days after exposure ended. The blood-brain barrier normally protects the brain from harmful substances in the blood, but this protective shield became compromised at radiation levels equivalent to what humans might experience with very high cell phone use.
Why This Matters
This study adds important evidence to concerns about cell phone radiation's effects on brain protection mechanisms. The researchers found delayed blood-brain barrier damage at exposure levels of 13 W/kg in rats, which they calculated as equivalent to 50 W/kg in humans. Put simply, this suggests that intensive cell phone use over weeks could compromise your brain's natural protective barrier, potentially allowing toxins and other harmful substances to enter brain tissue. What makes this research particularly significant is the delayed effect - the damage appeared 50 days after exposure ended, not immediately. This delayed response pattern mirrors what we've seen with other environmental toxins like tobacco, where health effects often emerge long after initial exposure. The science demonstrates that even after you reduce your EMF exposure, some biological effects may persist or even worsen over time.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 0.026, 0.26, 2.6, and 13 W/kg
- Source/Device
- GSM-1800 and UMTS-1950
- Exposure Duration
- 2 h/day, 5 days/week, for 4 weeks
Where This Falls on the Concern Scale
Study Details
Blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeation and neuron degeneration were assessed in the rat brain following exposure to mobile communication radiofrequency (RF) signals (GSM-1800 and UMTS-1950).
Two protocols were used: (i) single 2 h exposure, with rats sacrificed immediately, and 1 h, 1, 7, o...
No adverse impact in terms of BBB leakage or neuron degeneration was observed after single exposures...
Show BibTeX
@article{f_2017_effects_of_gsm_and_1275,
author = {Poulletier de Gannes F and Masuda H and Billaudel B and Poque-Haro E and Hurtier A and Lévêque P and Ruffié G and Taxile M and Veyret B and Lagroye I. },
title = {Effects of GSM and UMTS mobile telephony signals on neuron degeneration and blood-brain barrier permeation in the rat brain.},
year = {2017},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29138435/},
}