Biochemical Modifications and Neuronal Damage in Brain of Young and Adult Rats After Long-Term Exposure to Mobile Phone Radiations.
Motawi TK, Darwish HA, Moustafa YM, Labib MM. · 2014
View Original AbstractCell phone radiation at typical use levels caused brain damage and cell death in rats after 60 days of exposure.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed young and adult rats to cell phone radiation (SAR 1.13 W/kg) for 2 hours daily over 60 days and found significant brain damage. The radiation caused oxidative stress (cellular damage from harmful molecules), triggered programmed cell death, and led to visible neuronal damage, with young rats showing particularly affected brain development. This suggests that chronic cell phone exposure may harm brain tissue through multiple biological pathways.
Why This Matters
This study provides compelling evidence that cell phone radiation at levels similar to everyday use can cause measurable brain damage through oxidative stress and cell death pathways. The SAR level of 1.13 W/kg falls within the range of typical smartphone emissions, making these findings directly relevant to human exposure patterns. What's particularly concerning is that young rats showed greater vulnerability, including reduced brain weight - a finding that aligns with growing concerns about children's increased susceptibility to EMF effects. The researchers documented multiple markers of cellular damage, from oxidative stress indicators to apoptosis (programmed cell death) markers, painting a comprehensive picture of biological harm. The fact that both connected phones and actively calling phones produced effects suggests that even standby radiation poses risks during prolonged exposure.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 1.13 W/kg
- Exposure Duration
- 60 days (2 h/day)
Exposure Context
This study used 1.13 W/kg for SAR (device absorption):
- 2.8x above the Building Biology guideline of 0.4 W/kg
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 investigated the effect of exposure to mobile phone radiations on oxidative stress and apoptosis in brain of rats
Rats were allocated into six groups (three young and three adult). Groups 1 and 4 were not subjected...
Significant increments in conjugated dienes, protein carbonyls, total oxidant status, and oxidative ...
The interaction of these radiations with brain is via dissipating its antioxidant status and/or triggering apoptotic cell death.
Show BibTeX
@article{tk_2014_biochemical_modifications_and_neuronal_557,
author = {Motawi TK and Darwish HA and Moustafa YM and Labib MM.},
title = {Biochemical Modifications and Neuronal Damage in Brain of Young and Adult Rats After Long-Term Exposure to Mobile Phone Radiations.},
year = {2014},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24801773/},
}