GSM Mobile Phone Radiation Suppresses Brain Glucose Metabolism
Kwon MS, Vorobyev V, Kännälä S, Laine M, Rinne JO, Toivonen T, Johansson J, Teräs M, Lindholm H, Alanko T, Hämäläinen H. · 2011
View Original AbstractCell phone radiation suppresses brain energy metabolism within 33 minutes at exposure levels considered safe by regulators.
Plain English Summary
Finnish researchers exposed 13 young men to typical cell phone radiation for 33 minutes and used brain scans to measure energy use. They found glucose metabolism (brain fuel) significantly decreased in specific regions near the phone, showing even brief exposure measurably changes brain function.
Why This Matters
This study provides compelling evidence that cell phone radiation creates immediate, measurable changes in brain function. The researchers used positron emission tomography (PET), one of the most sophisticated brain imaging techniques available, to track glucose metabolism - essentially mapping how hard different brain regions are working. The fact that just 33 minutes of exposure at SAR levels between 0.23 and 1.5 W/kg (well within current safety limits) could suppress brain energy metabolism is significant. These SAR levels are typical of what you experience during normal phone calls. What makes this research particularly important is that it demonstrates biological effects at exposure levels regulators consider safe, using objective brain imaging rather than subjective symptom reports. The temporoparietal junction affected in this study plays crucial roles in attention, spatial processing, and decision-making. While we don't yet know the long-term implications of repeatedly suppressing brain metabolism in these regions, the evidence shows your brain responds to RF radiation in ways that current safety standards don't account for.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 1, 1.1 ,1.5, 1.4, 0.74, 0.23 W/kg
- Source/Device
- 902.4 MHz
- Exposure Duration
- continuously for 33 min
Where This Falls on the Concern Scale
Study Details
We investigated the effects of mobile phone radiation on cerebral glucose metabolism using high-resolution positron emission tomography (PET) with the 18F-deoxyglucose (FDG) tracer.
A long half-life (109 minutes) of the 18F isotope allowed a long, natural exposure condition outside...
8F-deoxyglucose PET images acquired after the exposure showed that relative cerebral metabolic rate ...
Our results show that short-term mobile phone exposure can locally suppress brain energy metabolism in humans.
Show BibTeX
@article{ms_2011_gsm_mobile_phone_radiation_118,
author = {Kwon MS and Vorobyev V and Kännälä S and Laine M and Rinne JO and Toivonen T and Johansson J and Teräs M and Lindholm H and Alanko T and Hämäläinen H. },
title = {GSM Mobile Phone Radiation Suppresses Brain Glucose Metabolism},
year = {2011},
doi = {10.1038/jcbfm.2011.128},
url = {https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1038/jcbfm.2011.128},
}