Effect of global system for mobile communication microwave exposure on the genomic response of the rat brain.
Fritze K, Wiessner C, Kuster N, Sommer C, Gass P, Hermann DM, Kiessling M,Hossmann KA, · 1997
View Original AbstractHigh-intensity cell phone radiation briefly activated brain stress responses in rats, but effects disappeared within 24 hours.
Plain English Summary
Scientists exposed rats to cell phone radiation for 24 hours at different power levels. Only the highest exposure caused temporary stress protein increases in brain cells, with effects disappearing within a day. This suggests brief cellular stress occurs at extreme levels but causes no lasting brain damage.
Why This Matters
This 1997 study provides important context for understanding how cell phone radiation affects brain tissue at the cellular level. The researchers tested exposure levels ranging from 0.3 to 7.5 W/kg - for comparison, modern smartphones typically operate at SAR levels around 1.0-1.6 W/kg when held against your head. The fact that even brief stress responses only occurred at the highest exposure level might seem reassuring, but this study only examined acute effects over 24 hours. What this research doesn't tell us is equally important: whether chronic, repeated exposures at lower levels might accumulate different effects over months or years of typical phone use. The temporary nature of the stress response also doesn't rule out the possibility that repeated activation of these cellular stress pathways could eventually lead to adaptive changes or cellular dysfunction.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 0.3, 1.5, and 7.5 W/kg
- Exposure Duration
- 24 hours
Where This Falls on the Concern Scale
Study Details
The acute effect of global system for mobile communication (GSM) microwave exposure on the genomic response of the central nervous system was studied in rats by measuring changes in the messenger RNAs of hsp70, the transcription factor genes c-fos and c-jun and the glial structural gene GFAP using in situ hybridization histochemistry.
Protein products of transcription factors, stress proteins and marker proteins of astroglial and mic...
Immediately after exposure, in situ hybridization revealed slight induction of hsp70 messenger RNA i...
In conclusion, acute high intensity microwave exposure of immobilized rats may induce some minor stress response but does not result in lasting adaptive or reactive changes of the brain.
Show BibTeX
@article{k_1997_effect_of_global_system_983,
author = {Fritze K and Wiessner C and Kuster N and Sommer C and Gass P and Hermann DM and Kiessling M andHossmann KA and},
title = {Effect of global system for mobile communication microwave exposure on the genomic response of the rat brain.},
year = {1997},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9316016/},
}