Pulsed radiofrequency applied to dorsal root ganglia causes a selective increase in ATF3 in small neurons.
Hamann W, Abou-Sherif S, Thompson S, Hall S. · 2006
View Original AbstractPulsed radiofrequency caused nerve cell stress at just 42°C, showing RF can affect neurons without obvious heating damage.
Plain English Summary
Researchers applied pulsed radiofrequency energy to nerve areas in rats and found it triggered a stress response in small pain-sensing neurons, even at temperatures below what would cause obvious tissue damage. The treatment specifically affected the types of nerve cells that carry pain signals (C and A-delta fibers), suggesting radiofrequency can alter nerve function through non-thermal mechanisms. This challenges the assumption that RF energy is only harmful when it heats tissue enough to cause visible damage.
Why This Matters
This study provides important evidence that radiofrequency energy can affect nervous system function through mechanisms beyond simple heating. The researchers found cellular stress markers in pain-sensing neurons at temperatures of just 42°C (107.6°F), well below levels that cause obvious thermal damage. What makes this particularly relevant is that the affected neurons are the same small-diameter fibers responsible for transmitting pain and other sensory information throughout your body. The science demonstrates that RF exposure can trigger biological responses in nerve cells without the dramatic temperature increases that regulatory agencies typically use as safety thresholds. This adds to the growing body of evidence suggesting our current safety standards, which focus primarily on preventing tissue heating, may not adequately protect against all biological effects of radiofrequency exposure.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study. The study examined exposure from: 2 Hz
Study Details
This is a "proof of concept study" to test the hypothesis that pulsed radiofrequency, PRF, produces cell stress at the primary afferent level without signs of overt thermal damage. We assumed that cell stress would result in impairment of normal function, and used the expression of activating transcription factor 3, ATF3, as an indicator of cellular "stress".
PRF (20 ms of 500-kHz RF pulses, delivered at a rate of 2 Hz; maximum temperature 42 degrees C) was ...
ATF3 expression was upregulated in L4 DRG neuronal cell bodies, irrespective of their size, after ax...
PRF has a biological effect, unlikely to be related to overt thermal damage. It appears to be selective in that it targets the group of neurons whose axons are the small diameter C and Adelta nociceptive fibres.
Show BibTeX
@article{w_2006_pulsed_radiofrequency_applied_to_2144,
author = {Hamann W and Abou-Sherif S and Thompson S and Hall S.},
title = {Pulsed radiofrequency applied to dorsal root ganglia causes a selective increase in ATF3 in small neurons.},
year = {2006},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16310722/},
}