Effects of mobile phones on oxidant/antioxidant balance in cornea and lens of rats
Balci M, Devrim E, Durak I · 2007
View Original AbstractCell phone radiation at realistic exposure levels caused measurable oxidative damage to eye tissues in this study.
Plain English Summary
Turkish researchers exposed rats to cell phone radiation (900 MHz) for 10 minutes four times daily over four weeks and examined eye tissues for signs of oxidative damage. They found increased markers of cellular damage in both the cornea and lens of the eye, indicating that radiofrequency radiation causes oxidative stress in eye tissues. When rats were given vitamin C supplements alongside the radiation exposure, the damage was significantly reduced.
Why This Matters
This study adds important evidence to our understanding of how cell phone radiation affects tissues beyond the brain. The 1.2 W/kg SAR exposure level used here is actually higher than current phone limits (which range from 1.6-2.0 W/kg depending on country), but the intermittent exposure pattern mirrors real-world usage more closely than continuous exposure studies. What makes this research particularly significant is that it demonstrates EMF effects in eye tissues, which are directly exposed during phone calls and increasingly during extended screen time. The finding that vitamin C provided measurable protection suggests the damage occurs through oxidative pathways that antioxidants can partially counter. While we can't directly extrapolate animal studies to humans, this research supports the growing body of evidence that radiofrequency radiation creates measurable biological stress in living tissues.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 1.2 W/kg
- Source/Device
- 900 MHz
- Exposure Duration
- 4 x 10 min/day, for 4 weeks
Exposure Context
This study used 1.2 W/kg for SAR (device absorption):
- 3x above the Building Biology guideline of 0.4 W/kg
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
To investigate the effects of mobile-phone-emitted radiation on the oxidant/antioxidant balance in corneal and lens tissues and to observe any protective effects of vitamin C in this setting.
Forty female albino Wistar rats were assigned to one of four groups containing 10 rats each. One gro...
In corneal tissue, MDA level and CAT activity significantly increased in the mobile phone group comp...
The results of this study suggest that mobile telephone radiation leads to oxidative stress in corneal and lens tissues and that antioxidants such as vitamin C can help to prevent these effects.
Show BibTeX
@article{m_2007_effects_of_mobile_phones_512,
author = {Balci M and Devrim E and Durak I},
title = {Effects of mobile phones on oxidant/antioxidant balance in cornea and lens of rats},
year = {2007},
doi = {10.1080/02713680601114948},
url = {https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02713680601114948},
}