Effects of 900-MHz electromagnetic field emitted from cellular phone on brain oxidative stress and some vitamin levels of guinea pigs.
Meral I, Mert H, Mert N, Deger Y, Yoruk I, Yetkin A, Keskin S · 2007
View Original AbstractCell phone radiation at typical usage levels creates oxidative stress in brain tissue, depleting natural antioxidant defenses.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed guinea pigs to cell phone radiation (900 MHz) for 12 hours daily over 30 days and found significant oxidative stress in brain tissue. The radiation increased harmful compounds called free radicals while depleting the brain's natural antioxidant defenses. This suggests that prolonged cell phone exposure may damage brain cells through oxidative stress, the same process linked to aging and neurodegenerative diseases.
Why This Matters
This study provides compelling evidence that cell phone radiation creates oxidative stress in brain tissue at exposure levels comparable to heavy phone use. The guinea pigs were exposed to a SAR of 0.95 W/kg, which is just under the 2 W/kg safety limit set by most regulatory agencies. What's particularly concerning is that the researchers found decreased glutathione and catalase activity in the brain - these are your body's primary defenses against cellular damage from free radicals. The science demonstrates that this isn't just about heating effects, but about fundamental disruption of cellular chemistry. While the researchers appropriately call for more studies, the oxidative stress pathway they've documented here connects to a growing body of evidence linking EMF exposure to neurological concerns. The reality is that your brain doesn't distinguish between 'safe' and 'unsafe' levels of exposure when cellular damage is occurring.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 0.95 W/kg
- Source/Device
- 890- to 915-MHz
- Exposure Duration
- 12 h/day (11-h 45-min stand-by and 15-min spiking mode) for 30 days
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
This study was designed to demonstrate the effects of 900-MHz electromagnetic field (EMF) emitted from cellular phone on brain tissue and also blood malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), retinol (vitamin A), vitamin D(3) and tocopherol (vitamin E) levels, and catalase (CAT) enzyme activity of guinea pigs.
Fourteen male guinea pigs, weighing 500-800 g were randomly divided into one of two experimental gro...
It was found that the MDA level increased (P<0.05), GSH level and CAT enzyme activity decreased (P<0...
It was concluded that electromagnetic field emitted from cellular phone might produce oxidative stress in brain tissue of guinea pigs. However, more studies are needed to demonstrate whether these effects are harmful or/and affect the neural functions.
Show BibTeX
@article{i_2007_effects_of_900mhz_electromagnetic_1201,
author = {Meral I and Mert H and Mert N and Deger Y and Yoruk I and Yetkin A and Keskin S},
title = {Effects of 900-MHz electromagnetic field emitted from cellular phone on brain oxidative stress and some vitamin levels of guinea pigs.},
year = {2007},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17674954/},
}