Effects of Extremely Low-Frequency Magnetic Field on Caspase Activities and Oxidative Stress Values in Rat Brain
Akdag MZ, Dasdag S, Ulukaya E, Uzunlar AK, Kurt MA, Taşkin A · 2010
View Original AbstractMagnetic fields within current safety limits caused brain oxidative stress in rats after long-term exposure, challenging regulatory assumptions about 'safe' levels.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed rats to magnetic fields at safety-approved levels for 10 months. Even these "safe" exposures caused brain cell damage and reduced natural antioxidant defenses. This suggests current safety standards may not adequately protect against long-term biological harm.
Why This Matters
This research challenges a fundamental assumption underlying current safety standards: that extremely low-frequency magnetic fields below regulatory limits are biologically inert. The study exposed rats to field strengths of 100 and 500 microTesla - levels you might encounter living near power lines or using certain household appliances - and found measurable oxidative damage in brain tissue after 10 months. What makes this particularly significant is that oxidative stress is implicated in neurodegenerative diseases, cognitive decline, and accelerated aging. The fact that even the lower exposure level (100 microTesla) produced detectable effects suggests our current safety standards may not adequately protect long-term brain health. While this was an animal study, the biological mechanisms of oxidative stress are highly conserved across species, making these findings relevant to human health considerations.
Exposure Details
- Magnetic Field
- 0.1, 0.5 mG
- Source/Device
- 50 Hz
- Exposure Duration
- 2 hr/day for 10 months
Exposure Context
This study used 0.1, 0.5 mG for magnetic fields:
- 5Kx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.2 mG
- 1Kx above the BioInitiative Report recommendation of 1 mG
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 was aimed to investigate the effect of extremely low-frequency magnetic field (ELF-MF) on apoptosis and oxidative stress values in the brain of rat.
Rats were exposed to 100 and 500 µT ELF-MF, which are the safety standards of public and occupationa...
Final score of apoptosis and MPO activity were not significantly different between the groups. CAT a...
In conclusion, apoptosis was not changed by long-term ELF-MF exposure, while both 100 and 500 µT ELF-MF exposure induced toxic effect in the rat brain by increasing oxidative stress and diminishing antioxidant defense
Show BibTeX
@article{mz_2010_effects_of_extremely_lowfrequency_215,
author = {Akdag MZ and Dasdag S and Ulukaya E and Uzunlar AK and Kurt MA and Taşkin A},
title = {Effects of Extremely Low-Frequency Magnetic Field on Caspase Activities and Oxidative Stress Values in Rat Brain},
year = {2010},
doi = {10.1007/s12011-010-8615-3},
url = {https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12011-010-8615-3},
}