GFAP expression in the rat brain following sub-chronic exposure to a 900 MHz electromagnetic field signal
Ammari M, Gamez C, Lecomte A, Sakly M, Abdelmelek H, De Seze R · 2010
View Original AbstractCell phone radiation at current safety limits caused brain inflammation in rats that persisted over a week after exposure stopped.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed rats to cell phone-level radiation (900 MHz) for 8 weeks and found increased levels of GFAP, a protein that indicates brain inflammation and damage to protective brain cells called astrocytes. The brain damage occurred at radiation levels similar to what people experience during cell phone use, and persisted for at least 10 days after exposure ended.
Why This Matters
This study provides compelling evidence that cell phone radiation can trigger inflammatory responses in the brain at exposure levels well within current safety limits. The SAR levels used (1.5 and 6 W/kg) bracket the maximum allowed for cell phones in many countries (2 W/kg), meaning this brain inflammation occurred at radiation doses people regularly experience. The persistence of elevated GFAP levels 10 days after exposure ended suggests the brain's protective astrocyte cells suffered lasting damage. What makes this research particularly significant is that GFAP elevation is a recognized biomarker for neurological disorders and brain injury. The science demonstrates that what regulators consider 'safe' exposure levels can trigger measurable brain inflammation in living tissue.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 1.5 and 6 W/kg
- Source/Device
- 900 MHz EMF signal
- Exposure Duration
- 5 days/week for 8 weeks (45 min/day,SAR=1.5 W/kg or 15 min/day,SAR= 6 W/kg)
Exposure Context
This study used 1.5 and 6 W/kg for SAR (device absorption):
- 3.8x 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
The rapid development and expansion of mobile communications contributes to the general debate on the effects of electromagnetic fields emitted by mobile phones on the nervous system. This study aims at measuring the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression in 48 rat brains to evaluate reactive astrocytosis, three and 10 days after long-term head-only sub-chronic exposure to a 900 MHz electromagnetic field (EMF) signal, in male rats.
Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed for 45 min/day at a brain-averaged specific absorption rate (SAR) =...
Compared to the sham-treated rats, those exposed to the sub-chronic GSM (Global System for mobile co...
Our results show that sub-chronic exposures to a 900 MHz EMF signal for two months could adversely affect rat brain (sign of a potential gliosis)
Show BibTeX
@article{m_2010_gfap_expression_in_the_63,
author = {Ammari M and Gamez C and Lecomte A and Sakly M and Abdelmelek H and De Seze R},
title = {GFAP expression in the rat brain following sub-chronic exposure to a 900 MHz electromagnetic field signal},
year = {2010},
doi = {10.3109/09553000903567946},
url = {https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/09553000903567946},
}