6,486 Studies Reviewed. 85.2% of Original Studies Found Biological Effects. The Evidence is Clear.
Shield Your Body
Brain & Nervous System112 citations

Effect of mobile phone exposure on apoptotic glial cells and status of oxidative stress in rat brain

Bioeffects Seen

Dasdag S, Akdag MZ, Ulukaya E, Uzunlar AK, Ocak AR · 2009

View Original Abstract
Share:

In rats exposed to 900 MHz radiation, the apoptosis score in brain tissue was significantly lower than in sham and control rats, while total antioxidant capacity and catalase were higher.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

The study used 31 Wistar Albino adult male rats, with the exposed group having their heads placed in a carousel and exposed to 900 MHz microwave radiation for 2 hours per day, 7 days a week, for 10 months. The apoptosis score in exposed rats was significantly lower than in both the sham group and the cage control group. Total antioxidant capacity and catalase were higher in the exposed group than in the sham group, while the oxidative stress index showed no significant difference between those groups. The protein p53 was not significantly changed by the exposure.

Why This Matters

The study carried out on 31 Wistar Albino adult male rats divided into an exposed group, a sham group, and a cage control group. The sham group underwent the same carousel procedure as the exposed group but with the generator turned off, allowing separation of procedural effects from radiation effects. Brain tissues were immunohistochemically stained for cleaved caspase-3, described as a well-known apoptosis marker, and for p53. The researchers concluded that the apoptosis score, total antioxidant capacity, and catalase in rat brain might be altered by 900 MHz radiation from a generator representing GSM cellular phone exposure.

Exposure Details

SAR
0.17 and 0.58 W/kg
Power Density
0.052 and 0.338 mW/cm²
Electric Field
16.26 and 29.43 V/m
Source/Device
900 MHz microwave
Exposure Duration
continuous 2 h/day, 7 days/week for 10 months

Exposure Context

This study used 0.052 and 0.338 mW/cm² for radio frequency:

This study used 16.26 and 29.43 V/m for electric fields:

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 Exposure Level in ContextStudy Exposure Level in ContextThis study: 0.052 and 0.338 mW/cm²Extreme Concern - 1,000 µW/m²FCC Limit - 10M µW/m²Effects observed in the Extreme Concern range (Building Biology)FCC limit is 19 times higher than this level
A logarithmic frequency spectrum from 10 Hz to 100 GHz showing where this study's 900 MHz exposure sits relative to common EMF sources.Where This Frequency Sits on the EMF SpectrumELFVLFLF / MFHF / VHFUHFSHFmm10 Hz100 GHzThis study: 900 MHzPower lines50/60 Hz5G mm28 GHzLogarithmic scale

Study Details

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of mobile phone exposure on glial cells in brain.

The study carried out on 31 Wistar Albino adult male rats. The rat heads in a carousel exposed to 90...

Final score for apoptosis in the exposed group was significantly lower than the sham (p < 0.001) and...

In conclusion, the final score for apoptosis, total antioxidant capacity and catalase in rat brain might be altered by 900 MHz radiation produced by a generator to represent exposure of global systems for mobile communication (GSM) cellular phones

Cite This Study
Dasdag S, Akdag MZ, Ulukaya E, Uzunlar AK, Ocak AR (2009). Effect of mobile phone exposure on apoptotic glial cells and status of oxidative stress in rat brain Electromagn Biol Med. 28(4):342-354, 2009.
Show BibTeX
@article{s_2009_effect_of_mobile_phone_86,
  author = {Dasdag S and Akdag MZ and Ulukaya E and Uzunlar AK and Ocak AR},
  title = {Effect of mobile phone exposure on apoptotic glial cells and status of oxidative stress in rat brain},
  year = {2009},
  doi = {10.3109/15368370903206556},
  url = {https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/15368370903206556},
}
DOI: 10.3109/15368370903206556

Cited By (112 papers)

View all 112 citing papers on Semantic Scholar

Quick Questions About This Study

The study used 31 Wistar Albino adult male rats whose heads were exposed to 900 MHz microwave radiation for 2 hours per day, 7 days a week, for 10 months.
The apoptosis score in the exposed group was significantly lower than in both the sham group and the cage control group.
Total antioxidant capacity and catalase were higher in the exposed group than in the sham group, though the oxidative stress index showed no significant difference between those groups.
p53 was not significantly changed by the exposure.
The researchers concluded that the apoptosis score, total antioxidant capacity, and catalase in rat brain might be altered by 900 MHz radiation produced by a generator representing GSM cellular phone exposure.