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The effects of microwave radiation on rabbit's retina

No Effects Found

Talebnejad MR, Sadeghi-Sarvestani A, Hossein Nowroozzadeh M, Mortazavi SMJ, Khalili MR · 2017

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Cell phone radiation caused eye tissue congestion in rabbits at close distances, suggesting potential vascular effects from everyday phone use.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers exposed 40 rabbits to cell phone-simulated microwave radiation at two distances (10 cm and 30 cm) for up to 3 days, then examined their retinas one week later. While they found no significant damage to the retina itself, they observed increased blood vessel congestion in the ciliary body (part of the eye that produces fluid) in rabbits exposed to higher radiation doses. The study suggests cell phone radiation may cause subtle eye changes even when major damage isn't apparent.

Study Details

Mobile cell phones are used extensively these days, and their microwave (MW) radiation has been shown to affect the eye. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effects of MW radiation on rabbit retina.

This experimental study (concluded in 2015) was conducted on 40 adult white New Zealand rabbits. A G...

ERG responses obtained 7 days after irradiation did not show any statistically significant differenc...

Histopathologically, cell phone simulated MW irradiation had no significant detrimental effect on the retina. However, ciliary body congestion was observed in greater fraction of those who received higher MW doses. Although there was no significant difference between post-treatment mean ERG values, there were statistically non-significant trends toward greater changes in the MW irradiated eyes.

Cite This Study
Talebnejad MR, Sadeghi-Sarvestani A, Hossein Nowroozzadeh M, Mortazavi SMJ, Khalili MR (2017). The effects of microwave radiation on rabbit's retina J Curr Ophthalmol.2017 Oct 9;30(1):74-79.
Show BibTeX
@article{mr_2017_the_effects_of_microwave_3438,
  author = {Talebnejad MR and Sadeghi-Sarvestani A and Hossein Nowroozzadeh M and Mortazavi SMJ and Khalili MR},
  title = {The effects of microwave radiation on rabbit's retina},
  year = {2017},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29564413/},
}
PubMed: 29564413

Cited By (10 papers)

Quick Questions About This Study

A 2017 study found no significant retinal damage in rabbits exposed to cell phone-simulated microwave radiation for up to 3 days. The retinas showed no degeneration or infiltration when examined one week after exposure, suggesting the eye's light-sensing tissue remains protected from this type of radiation.
Yes, rabbits exposed to higher doses of microwave radiation showed increased blood vessel congestion in the ciliary body, the part of the eye that produces fluid. This occurred even though the retina itself remained undamaged, suggesting subtle vascular changes from radiation exposure.
In rabbit studies, both 10 cm and 30 cm distances from cell phone-simulated radiation sources caused observable effects. Animals closer to the radiation source (10 cm) showed more pronounced blood vessel congestion in eye tissues than those at 30 cm distance.
Researchers found eye blood vessel changes in rabbits remained detectable one week after stopping 3-day microwave radiation exposure. The ciliary body congestion persisted even after the radiation source was removed, indicating potentially lasting vascular effects.
Electroretinogram (ERG) tests showed no statistically significant differences in rabbits exposed to cell phone radiation versus controls. However, researchers noted non-significant trends toward greater changes in irradiated eyes, suggesting subtle functional effects below detectable thresholds.