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 AbstractChronic cell phone radiation exposure triggered lasting brain inflammation in rats at levels near current safety limits.
Plain English Summary
French researchers exposed rats to cell phone radiation for 8 weeks and found increased brain inflammation markers that lasted at least 10 days after exposure ended. This suggests chronic mobile phone use may trigger inflammatory brain responses similar to those seen in neurodegenerative diseases.
Why This Matters
This study provides compelling evidence that chronic exposure to cell phone radiation can trigger neuroinflammation in the brain. The researchers found increased GFAP expression across multiple brain regions, including the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus - areas critical for cognition and memory. What makes this particularly concerning is that the effects persisted for at least 10 days after exposure ended, suggesting the brain changes aren't simply a temporary response but may represent lasting damage. The exposure levels used (1.5 and 6 W/kg SAR) bracket the current safety limit of 2 W/kg, meaning one group experienced exposures within current guidelines while the other exceeded them. Both groups showed brain changes. The reality is that gliosis - the inflammatory response measured in this study - is associated with neurodegenerative diseases and brain injury. While we can't directly extrapolate from rats to humans, this research adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting that our current safety standards may not adequately protect the brain from chronic EMF exposure.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 6 W/kg
- Source/Device
- 900-MHz
- Exposure Duration
- 15 min/day for 5 days a week during an eight-week period
Exposure Context
This study used 6 W/kg for SAR (device absorption):
- 15x 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
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_816,
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},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20397841/},
}