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Brain & Nervous System124 citations

Blood-brain barrier permeability and nerve cell damage in rat brain 14 and 28 days after exposure to microwaves from GSM mobile phones

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Eberhardt JL, Persson BR, Brun AE, Salford LG, Malmgren LO · 2008

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Rat brains showed signs of blood-brain barrier leakage 14 days after GSM microwave exposure, and damaged neurons appeared 28 days after exposure.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers exposed rats to GSM microwave signals in the 900 MHz band and measured blood-brain barrier permeability and signs of neuronal damage after recovery periods of 14 or 28 days. Non-anaesthetized rats were sham exposed or exposed to microwaves for 2 hours at whole-body specific absorption rates of 0.12, 1.2, 12, or 120 mW/kg. Albumin leakage and its uptake into neurons was enhanced after 14 days but not after the 28-day recovery period, while the occurrence of dark neurons was enhanced after 28 days.

Why This Matters

Non-anaesthetized rats were either exposed to microwaves or sham exposed, allowing a comparison between animals that received microwave exposure and those that did not. The researchers assessed albumin leakage out of blood vessels, its uptake into neurons, and the occurrence of damaged neurons. The 28-day brain samples showed that neuronal albumin uptake was significantly correlated to the occurrence of damaged neurons.

Exposure Details

SAR
0.00012,0.0012,0.012,0.12 W/kg
Power Density
0.00052,0.0052,0.52,5.2 mW/cm²
Source/Device
900 MHz Mobile phone
Exposure Duration
continuous for 2 h

Exposure Context

This study used 0.00052,0.0052,0.52,5.2 mW/cm² for radio frequency:

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 Exposure Level in ContextStudy Exposure Level in ContextThis study: 0.00052,0.0052,0.52,5.2 mW/cm²Extreme Concern - 1,000 µW/m²FCC Limit - 10M µW/m²Effects observed in the Extreme Concern range (Building Biology)FCC limit is 1,923 times higher than this level
A logarithmic frequency spectrum from 10 Hz to 100 GHz showing where this study's 900 MHz exposure sits relative to common EMF sources.Where This Frequency Sits on the EMF SpectrumELFVLFLF / MFHF / VHFUHFSHFmm10 Hz100 GHzThis study: 900 MHzPower lines50/60 Hz5G mm28 GHzLogarithmic scale

Study Details

We investigated the effects of global system for mobile communication (GSM) microwave exposure on the permeability of the blood-brain barrier and signs of neuronal damage in rats using a real GSM programmable mobile phone in the 900 MHz band.

Ninety-six non-anaesthetized rats were either exposed to microwaves or sham exposed in TEM-cells for...

Albumin extravazation and also its uptake into neurons was seen to be enhanced after 14 d (Kruskal W...

Cite This Study
Eberhardt JL, Persson BR, Brun AE, Salford LG, Malmgren LO (2008). Blood-brain barrier permeability and nerve cell damage in rat brain 14 and 28 days after exposure to microwaves from GSM mobile phones Electromagn Biol Med. 27(3):215-229, 2008.
Show BibTeX
@article{jl_2008_bloodbrain_barrier_permeability_and_96,
  author = {Eberhardt JL and Persson BR and Brun AE and Salford LG and Malmgren LO},
  title = {Blood-brain barrier permeability and nerve cell damage in rat brain 14 and 28 days after exposure to microwaves from GSM mobile phones},
  year = {2008},
  doi = {10.1080/15368370802344037},
  url = {https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15368370802344037},
}
DOI: 10.1080/15368370802344037

Cited By (124 papers)

View all 124 citing papers on Semantic Scholar

Quick Questions About This Study

Rats were exposed to GSM microwave signals in the 900 MHz band for 2 hours at whole-body SAR levels of 0.12, 1.2, 12, or 120 mW/kg.
Albumin leakage and its uptake into neurons was enhanced after 14 days (p = 0.02 and 0.002, respectively), but this effect was not seen after the 28-day recovery period.
The occurrence of dark neurons in the rat brains was enhanced after 28 days (p = 0.02), and neuronal albumin uptake was significantly correlated to the occurrence of damaged neurons in those samples.
The rats used in the study were non-anaesthetized.
Rats were sacrificed after a recovery time of either 14 or 28 days following exposure.