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Increased blood-brain barrier permeability in mammalian brain 7 days after exposure to the radiation from a GSM-900 mobile phone.

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Nittby H, Brun A, Eberhardt J, Malmgren L, Persson BR, Salford LG · 2009

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Cell phone radiation compromised rats' blood-brain barrier for at least 7 days after just 2 hours of exposure.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers exposed rats to cell phone radiation at various power levels for 2 hours, then examined their brains 7 days later. They found that the blood-brain barrier (the protective shield that normally keeps toxins out of the brain) became more permeable, allowing proteins to leak into brain tissue. This suggests that even a single exposure to cell phone radiation can compromise the brain's protective barrier for at least a week.

Why This Matters

This study adds crucial evidence to a growing body of research showing that RF radiation can compromise the blood-brain barrier, your brain's critical defense system. What makes this particularly significant is that effects persisted for a full week after just 2 hours of exposure at power levels comparable to cell phone use. The researchers found increased permeability at 12 mW/kg, which is within the range of typical cell phone SAR values (most phones operate between 0.5-2.0 W/kg during calls). The blood-brain barrier exists for a reason - it prevents harmful substances from entering your brain tissue. When this barrier becomes compromised, it potentially allows toxins, pathogens, and other unwanted materials to reach your neurons. The fact that this damage persisted for at least 7 days suggests the effects aren't immediately reversible, raising important questions about cumulative damage from regular cell phone use.

Exposure Details

SAR
0, 0.00012, 0.0012, 0.012, 0.12 W/kg
Source/Device
915 MHz
Exposure Duration
2 h

Where This Falls on the Concern Scale

Study Exposure Level in ContextA logarithmic scale showing exposure levels relative to Building Biology concern thresholds and regulatory limits.Study Exposure Level in ContextThis study: 0, 0.00012, 0.0012, 0.012, 0.12 W/kgExtreme Concern0.1 W/kgFCC Limit1.6 W/kgEffects observed in the No Concern range (Building Biology)FCC limit is 13,333x higher than this exposure level

Study Details

In the background section of this report, we present a thorough review of the literature on the demonstrated effects (or lack of effects) of microwave exposure upon the BBB.

Furthermore, we have continued our own studies by investigating the effects of GSM mobile phone radi...

Albumin extravasation was enhanced in the mobile phone exposed rats as compared to sham controls aft...

The present findings are in agreement with our earlier studies where we have seen increased BBB permeability immediately and 14 days after exposure. We here discuss the present findings as well as the previous results of altered BBB permeability from our and other laboratories.

Cite This Study
Nittby H, Brun A, Eberhardt J, Malmgren L, Persson BR, Salford LG (2009). Increased blood-brain barrier permeability in mammalian brain 7 days after exposure to the radiation from a GSM-900 mobile phone. Pathophysiology. 16(2-3):103-112, 2009.
Show BibTeX
@article{h_2009_increased_bloodbrain_barrier_permeability_159,
  author = {Nittby H and Brun A and Eberhardt J and Malmgren L and Persson BR and Salford LG},
  title = {Increased blood-brain barrier permeability in mammalian brain 7 days after exposure to the radiation from a GSM-900 mobile phone.},
  year = {2009},
  
  url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0928468009000133},
}

Quick Questions About This Study

Researchers exposed rats to cell phone radiation at various power levels for 2 hours, then examined their brains 7 days later. They found that the blood-brain barrier (the protective shield that normally keeps toxins out of the brain) became more permeable, allowing proteins to leak into brain tissue. This suggests that even a single exposure to cell phone radiation can compromise the brain's protective barrier for at least a week.