Long-term electromagnetic field treatment enhances brain mitochondrial function of both Alzheimer's transgenic mice and normal mice: a mechanism for electromagnetic field-induced cognitive benefit?
Dragicevic N, Bradshaw PC, Mamcarz M, Lin X, Wang L, Cao C, Arendash GW · 2011
View Original AbstractEMF exposure at cell phone levels enhanced brain energy production by 50-150% in mice, suggesting potential therapeutic applications.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed mice to 918 MHz electromagnetic fields daily for one month. The treatment dramatically boosted brain cell energy production by 50-150% in Alzheimer's mice and improved function in normal mice, suggesting EMFs might protect against cognitive decline.
Why This Matters
This study presents a fascinating counterpoint to concerns about EMF exposure, showing that specific radiofrequency fields can actually enhance brain mitochondrial function. The researchers used 918 MHz signals at SAR levels of 0.25-1.05 W/kg, which falls within the range of modern cell phone exposures. What makes this research particularly compelling is the mechanism they identified: EMF treatment appears to break apart toxic protein clumps in Alzheimer's brains while boosting cellular energy production. However, we must be cautious about extrapolating these findings. The reality is that this represents just one study using very specific exposure parameters, and the beneficial effects occurred at controlled doses and durations that may differ significantly from typical daily EMF exposure patterns. The science demonstrates that EMF effects are highly dependent on frequency, intensity, and timing - variables that make real-world applications complex.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 0.25 and 1.05 W/kg
- Electric Field
- 17 and 35 V/m
- Source/Device
- 918 MHz
- Exposure Duration
- two times 1 h/day for 1 month
Exposure Context
This study used 17 and 35 V/m for electric fields:
- 56.7x above the Building Biology guideline of 0.3 V/m
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
We have recently reported that long-term exposure to high frequency electromagnetic field (EMF) treatment not only prevents or reverses cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's transgenic (Tg) mice, but also improves memory in normal mice.
To elucidate the possible mechanism(s) for these EMF-induced cognitive benefits, brain mitochondrial...
In Tg mice, EMF treatment enhanced brain mitochondrial function by 50-150% across six established me...
These results collectively suggest that brain mitochondrial enhancement may be a primary mechanism through which EMF treatment provides cognitive benefit to both Tg and NT mice. Especially in the context that mitochondrial dysfunction is an early and prominent characteristic of Alzheimer's pathogenesis, EMF treatment could have profound value in the disease's prevention and treatment through intervention at the mitochondrial level
Show BibTeX
@article{n_2011_longterm_electromagnetic_field_treatment_95,
author = {Dragicevic N and Bradshaw PC and Mamcarz M and Lin X and Wang L and Cao C and Arendash GW},
title = {Long-term electromagnetic field treatment enhances brain mitochondrial function of both Alzheimer's transgenic mice and normal mice: a mechanism for electromagnetic field-induced cognitive benefit?},
year = {2011},
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306452211003927},
}