Genotoxic effects of 3 T magnetic resonance imaging in cultured human lymphocytes.
Lee JW, Kim MS, Kim YJ, Choi YJ, Lee Y, Chung HW. · 2011
View Original Abstract3 Tesla MRI scanners cause measurable DNA damage in human cells that increases with longer exposure times.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed human immune cells (lymphocytes) to electromagnetic fields from clinical 3 Tesla MRI scanners for different time periods, from 22 to 89 minutes. They found that longer exposures caused increasing levels of DNA damage, including single-strand breaks and chromosome abnormalities. This suggests that the powerful electromagnetic fields used in high-strength MRI machines may pose genetic risks that increase with exposure time.
Why This Matters
This research raises important questions about the safety of increasingly powerful MRI scanners. While 3 Tesla MRI machines provide superior image quality, this study demonstrates they can cause measurable DNA damage in human cells in a dose-dependent manner. The researchers found that genetic damage doubled after 89 minutes of exposure compared to unexposed cells. What makes this particularly concerning is that 3 Tesla MRI has become the clinical standard, with many hospitals upgrading from older 1.5 Tesla machines. The reality is that patients undergoing longer MRI procedures may face cumulative genetic damage. While a single MRI scan likely poses minimal risk, the evidence shows we need better understanding of the biological effects from these powerful electromagnetic fields, especially for patients requiring multiple scans or healthcare workers with occupational exposure.
Exposure Details
- Magnetic Field
- 3000 mG
- Exposure Duration
- 22, 45, 67, and 89 min
Exposure Context
This study used 3000 mG for magnetic fields:
- 150Mx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.2 mG
- 30Mx above the BioInitiative Report recommendation of 1 mG
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
In this study, the genotoxic potential of 3 T clinical MRI scans in cultured human lymphocytes in vitro was investigated by analyzing chromosome aberrations (CA), micronuclei (MN), and single-cell gel electrophoresis.
Human lymphocytes were exposed to electromagnetic fields generated during MRI scanning (clinical rou...
We observed a significant increase in the frequency of single-strand DNA breaks following exposure t...
These results suggest that exposure to 3 T MRI induces genotoxic effects in human lymphocytes.
Show BibTeX
@article{jw_2011_genotoxic_effects_of_3_1144,
author = {Lee JW and Kim MS and Kim YJ and Choi YJ and Lee Y and Chung HW.},
title = {Genotoxic effects of 3 T magnetic resonance imaging in cultured human lymphocytes.},
year = {2011},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21412810/},
}