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Brain & Nervous System

Microglial activation as a measure of stress in mouse brains exposed acutely (60 minutes) and long-term (2 years) to mobile telephone radiofrequency fields

No Effects Found

Finnie JW, Cai Z, Manavis J, Helps S, Blumbergs PC · 2010

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Two years of cell phone radiation exposure at levels four times higher than phone limits caused no detectable brain stress in mice.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers exposed mice to 900 MHz cell phone radiation for either 60 minutes or five days a week for two years, then examined their brains for signs of microglial activation - a cellular stress response that occurs when brain tissue is damaged. They found no evidence of brain cell stress or activation at either exposure duration, even at radiation levels much higher than typical cell phone use.

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 or 5 days/week for 104 weeks

Study Details

To determine whether acute or long-term exposure of the brain to mobile telephone radiofrequency (RF) fields produces activation of microglia, which normally respond rapidly to any change in their microenvironment.

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

There was no increase in microglial Iba1 expression in brains short or long-term exposed to mobile t...

Acute (60 minutes) or longer duration (2 years) exposure of murine brains to mobile telephone RF fields did not produce any microglial activation detectable by Iba1 immunostaining.

Cite This Study
Finnie JW, Cai Z, Manavis J, Helps S, Blumbergs PC (2010). Microglial activation as a measure of stress in mouse brains exposed acutely (60 minutes) and long-term (2 years) to mobile telephone radiofrequency fields Pathology. 42(2):151-154, 2010.
Show BibTeX
@article{jw_2010_microglial_activation_as_a_2754,
  author = {Finnie JW and Cai Z and Manavis J and Helps S and Blumbergs PC},
  title = {Microglial activation as a measure of stress in mouse brains exposed acutely (60 minutes) and long-term (2 years) to mobile telephone radiofrequency fields},
  year = {2010},
  
  url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031302516334729},
}

Quick Questions About This Study

No, 900 MHz radiation does not cause microglial activation in brain tissue. A 2010 study exposed mice to cell phone radiation for either 60 minutes or two years and found no evidence of brain cell stress or microglial activation at either exposure duration.
No, two years of daily cell phone radiation exposure does not damage mouse brains. Researchers found no microglial activation or brain cell stress in mice exposed to 900 MHz radiation five days per week for two years, even at higher levels than typical phone use.
Microglial activation is a cellular stress response that occurs when brain tissue is damaged. Phone radiation does not trigger this response. A study using 900 MHz radiation found no microglial activation in mouse brains after both short-term and long-term exposure.
Cell phone radiation does not appear to affect brain cells regardless of exposure duration. Research found no brain cell stress or microglial activation in mice exposed to 900 MHz radiation for either 60 minutes or continuously over two years.
No, Iba1 immunostaining shows no brain damage from 900 MHz radiation. This sensitive test for microglial activation revealed no cellular stress in mouse brains exposed to cell phone radiation, while positive control samples showed clear activation patterns.