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Brain & Nervous System

No apoptosis is induced in rat cortical neurons exposed to GSM phone fields.

No Effects Found

Joubert V, Leveque P, Cueille M, Bourthoumieu S, Yardin C. · 2007

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Cell phone radiation at typical use levels didn't kill rat brain neurons in lab tests, but this doesn't rule out other biological effects.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

French researchers exposed rat brain neurons to cell phone radiation (900 MHz GSM) for 24 hours at levels similar to phone use (0.25 W/kg SAR) to see if it would cause cell death (apoptosis). Using three different testing methods, they found no increase in neuron death compared to unexposed control cells. This suggests that short-term cell phone radiation exposure may not directly kill brain cells under these laboratory conditions.

Exposure Information

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

The study examined exposure from: 900 MHz Duration: 24 hours

Study Details

The aim of this study was to investigate the radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields (EMF) effects on neuronal apoptosis in vitro.

Primary cultured neurons from cortices of embryonic Wistar rats were exposed to a 900-MHz global sys...

No statistically significant difference in the apoptosis rate was observed between controls and 24 h...

These results showed that, under the conditions of experiment used, GSM-exposure does not significantly increase the apoptosis rate in rat primary neuronal cultures. This work is in accordance with other studies performed on cell lines and, to our knowledge, is the first one performed on cultured cortical neurons.

Cite This Study
Joubert V, Leveque P, Cueille M, Bourthoumieu S, Yardin C. (2007). No apoptosis is induced in rat cortical neurons exposed to GSM phone fields. Bioelectromagnetics.38(2) 115-121, 2007.
Show BibTeX
@article{v_2007_no_apoptosis_is_induced_3122,
  author = {Joubert V and Leveque P and Cueille M and Bourthoumieu S and Yardin C.},
  title = {No apoptosis is induced in rat cortical neurons exposed to GSM phone fields.},
  year = {2007},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17004238/},
}
PubMed: 17004238

Cited By (83 papers)

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Quick Questions About This Study

No, 24-hour exposure to 900 MHz GSM radiation at 0.25 W/kg SAR did not cause rat cortical neurons to die. French researchers used three different testing methods and found no increase in cell death (apoptosis) compared to unexposed neurons, suggesting short-term cell phone radiation may not directly kill brain cells.
The 2007 French study tested 900 MHz GSM radiation at 0.25 W/kg SAR on rat cortical neurons for 24 hours. This SAR level is similar to typical cell phone use levels and showed no significant increase in neuron death compared to control cells.
Three different testing methods all confirmed that 900 MHz GSM radiation did not increase neuron death in rat cortical cells. The French researchers found all three apoptosis assessment methods were concordant, showing no statistically significant difference between exposed and control neurons after 24-hour exposure.
Yes, according to the authors, this 2007 French study was the first to test GSM radiation effects specifically on cultured cortical neurons. Previous studies had examined cell lines, but this research broke new ground by using primary rat cortical neuron cultures to assess apoptosis from 900 MHz exposure.
The study found no GSM effects on rat cortical neurons either immediately or 24 hours after exposure ended. Researchers tested for apoptosis both 0 hours and 24 hours post-exposure to 900 MHz radiation, with all three testing methods showing no significant neuron death at either time point.