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Brain & Nervous System

Effect of mobile telephony on blood-brain barrier permeability in the fetal mouse brain.

No Effects Found

Finnie JW, Blumbergs PC, Cai Z, Manavis J, Kuchel TR. · 2006

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Cell phone-level radiation didn't damage the blood-brain barrier in developing mouse brains, but this single protective mechanism doesn't rule out other developmental risks.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers exposed pregnant mice to cell phone-like radiation (900 MHz) for one hour daily throughout pregnancy to see if it would damage the blood-brain barrier in developing fetal brains. The blood-brain barrier is a protective filter that prevents harmful substances from entering brain tissue. They found no damage to this protective barrier in any brain region examined, suggesting the radiation exposure did not compromise brain protection during development.

Exposure Information

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

The study examined exposure from: 900 MHz Duration: 60 min/day from day 1 to day 19 of gestation

Study Details

To study the effect of mobile telephone exposure on blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability in the immature brain.

Using a purpose-designed exposure system at 900 MHz, pregnant mice were given a single, far-field, w...

No albumin extravasation was found in exposed or control brains.

In this animal model, whole of gestation exposure to global system for mobile communication-like radiofrequency fields did not produce any increase in vascular permeability in the fetal brain regions studied using endogenous albumin as a light microscopic immunohistochemical marker.

Cite This Study
Finnie JW, Blumbergs PC, Cai Z, Manavis J, Kuchel TR. (2006). Effect of mobile telephony on blood-brain barrier permeability in the fetal mouse brain. Pathology. 38(1):63-65, 2006.
Show BibTeX
@article{jw_2006_effect_of_mobile_telephony_3019,
  author = {Finnie JW and Blumbergs PC and Cai Z and Manavis J and Kuchel TR.},
  title = {Effect of mobile telephony on blood-brain barrier permeability in the fetal mouse brain.},
  year = {2006},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16484011/},
}
PubMed: 16484011

Cited By (42 papers)

Quick Questions About This Study

No, a 2006 study found no damage to the blood-brain barrier in fetal mice exposed to 900 MHz radiation throughout pregnancy. Researchers exposed pregnant mice to one hour daily of cell phone-like radiation and found no increase in vascular permeability in any brain region examined.
Research suggests prenatal cell phone exposure may not affect blood-brain barrier development. A study exposing pregnant mice to 900 MHz radiation for one hour daily throughout gestation found no albumin extravasation or increased vascular permeability in fetal brain regions.
One hour daily of 900 MHz exposure appears safe during mouse pregnancy based on blood-brain barrier measurements. The 2006 study by Finnie and colleagues found no compromise to the protective brain barrier in developing fetuses after whole-gestation exposure.
Fetal brain protection appears unaffected by GSM radiation exposure in animal studies. Research using 900 MHz GSM-like fields throughout mouse pregnancy showed no damage to the blood-brain barrier, suggesting the protective filter preventing harmful substances from entering brain tissue remained intact.
No, albumin does not leak into fetal brain after 900 MHz radiation exposure according to mouse studies. Researchers found no albumin extravasation in either exposed or control fetal brains, indicating the blood-brain barrier maintained its protective function throughout development.