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Brain & Nervous System

Microwave radiation induced oxidative stress, cognitive impairment and inflammation in brain of Fischer rats.

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Megha K, Deshmukh PS, Banerjee BD, Tripathi AK, Abegaonkar MP. · 2012

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Microwave-exposed Fischer rats showed significant cognitive impairment, oxidative stress, and elevated cytokines in brain tissue compared with sham-exposed groups.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers exposed male Fischer-344 rats to 900 MHz and 1800 MHz microwave radiation for 30 days at 2 hours per day to evaluate oxidative stress, cognitive impairment, and inflammation in the brain. Compared with sham-exposed animals, microwave-exposed rats showed significant impairment in cognitive function and oxidative stress in brain tissues. A significant increase in the cytokines IL-6 and TNF-alpha was also observed following microwave exposure.

Why This Matters

The study used two separate exposure frequencies, 900 MHz and 1800 MHz, each at very low specific absorption rates. The researchers suggested that oxidative stress due to microwave exposure may contribute to cognitive impairment and inflammation in the brain.

Exposure Details

SAR
0.0005953 W/kg
Power Density
0.168 mW/cm²
Source/Device
900 MHz microwave
Exposure Duration
2 h/day, 5 days a week for 30 days

Exposure Context

This study used 0.168 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: 0.168 mW/cm²Extreme Concern - 1,000 µW/m²FCC Limit - 10M µW/m²Effects observed in the Extreme Concern range (Building Biology)FCC limit is 6 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

To study the microwave radiation induced oxidative stress, cognitive impairment and inflammation in brain of Fischer rats

To evaluate the intensity of oxidative stress, cognitive impairment and inflammation in brain of Fis...

Significant impairment in cognitive function and induction of oxidative stress in brain tissues of m...

Results of the present study indicated that increased oxidative stress due to microwave exposure may contribute to cognitive impairment and inflammation in brain.

Cite This Study
Megha K, Deshmukh PS, Banerjee BD, Tripathi AK, Abegaonkar MP. (2012). Microwave radiation induced oxidative stress, cognitive impairment and inflammation in brain of Fischer rats. Indian J Exp Biol. 50(12):889-896, 2012.
Show BibTeX
@article{k_2012_microwave_radiation_induced_oxidative_143,
  author = {Megha K and Deshmukh PS and Banerjee BD and Tripathi AK and Abegaonkar MP.},
  title = {Microwave radiation induced oxidative stress, cognitive impairment and inflammation in brain of Fischer rats. },
  year = {2012},
  
  url = {http://nopr.niscair.res.in/handle/123456789/15176},
}

Quick Questions About This Study

Rats were exposed to 900 MHz and 1800 MHz microwave radiation for 30 days at 2 hours per day.
Significant impairment in cognitive function was observed in microwave-exposed rats compared with sham-exposed groups.
A significant increase in the cytokines IL-6 and TNF-alpha was observed following microwave exposure.
The researchers indicated that increased oxidative stress due to microwave exposure may contribute to cognitive impairment and inflammation in the brain.
Male Fischer-344 rats were used as the study subjects.