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Fifty-gigahertz Microwave exposure effect of radiations on rat brain.

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Kesari KK, Behari J. · 2009

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Chronic exposure to 50-GHz microwave radiation was associated with DNA double-strand breaks and changes in antioxidant enzyme activity in rat brain cells.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers investigated the effects of 50-GHz microwave radiation on the brain of Wistar rats. The animals were exposed for 2 hours a day for 45 days continuously at a power level of 0.86 μW/cm2. Exposed rats showed DNA double-strand breaks and a significant decrease in GPx and SOD activity in brain cells, while catalase activity showed a significant increase compared with control. PKC decreased significantly in the whole brain and hippocampus of the exposed group.

Why This Matters

Animals of 60-day age were divided into two groups: a sham-exposed group and a microwave-exposed experimental group. During exposure, rats were placed in Plexiglas cages with drilled ventilation holes and kept in an anechoic chamber. The nominal specific absorption rate used was 8.0 × 10−4 w/kg. After the exposure period, researchers measured protein kinase C, DNA double-strand breaks, and antioxidant enzyme activity including SOD, catalase, and GPx in the whole brain. The researchers concluded that these radiations can have a significant effect on the whole brain.

Exposure Details

SAR
0.0008 W/kg
Power Density
0.00086 mW/cm²
Source/Device
50-GHz
Exposure Duration
2 h a day for 45 days

Exposure Context

This study used 0.00086 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: 0.00086 mW/cm²Extreme Concern - 1,000 µW/m²FCC Limit - 10M µW/m²Effects observed in the Extreme Concern range (Building Biology)FCC limit is 1,163 times higher than this level
A logarithmic frequency spectrum from 10 Hz to 100 GHz showing where this study's 50 GHz exposure sits relative to common EMF sources.Where This Frequency Sits on the EMF SpectrumELFVLFLF / MFHF / VHFUHFSHFmm10 Hz100 GHzThis study: 50 GHzPower lines50/60 HzCell phones~1 GHzWiFi2.4 GHzLogarithmic scale

Study Details

The object of this study is to investigate the effects of 50-GHz microwave radiation on the brain of Wistar rats.

Male rats of the Wistar strain were used in the study. Animals of 60-day age were divided into two g...

Result shows that the chronic exposure to these radiations causes DNA double-strand break (head and ...

We conclude that these radiations can have a significant effect on the whole brain.

Cite This Study
Kesari KK, Behari J. (2009). Fifty-gigahertz Microwave exposure effect of radiations on rat brain. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 158:126-39, 2009.
Show BibTeX
@article{kk_2009_fiftygigahertz_microwave_exposure_effect_15,
  author = {Kesari KK and Behari J.},
  title = {Fifty-gigahertz Microwave exposure effect of radiations on rat brain.},
  year = {2009},
  doi = {10.1007/s12010-008-8469-8},
  url = {http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12010-008-8469-8},
}
DOI: 10.1007/s12010-008-8469-8

Cited By (63 papers)

View all 63 citing papers on Semantic Scholar

Quick Questions About This Study

The study investigated the effects of 50-GHz microwave radiation on the brain of Wistar rats.
The rats were exposed for 2 hours a day for 45 days continuously at a power level of 0.86 μW/cm2.
GPx and SOD activity decreased significantly in brain cells, while catalase activity showed a significant increase in the exposed group compared with control.
PKC decreased significantly in the whole brain and hippocampus of the exposed group.
The researchers concluded that these radiations can have a significant effect on the whole brain.