Effects of single and repeated exposure to a 50-Hz 2-mT electromagnetic field on primary cultured hippocampal neurons
Zeng Y, Shen Y, Hong L, Chen Y, Shi X, Zeng Q, Yu P · 2017
View Original AbstractBrain cells exposed to strong 50-Hz magnetic fields showed increased oxidative stress but survived, suggesting potential for cumulative damage over time.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed brain cells from the hippocampus (a memory center) to 50-Hz magnetic fields at 2 milliTesla for 8 hours daily and measured various biological effects. They found that repeated exposure reduced cell survival and increased harmful reactive oxygen species, but did not cause DNA damage or cell death. The study suggests that while these magnetic fields create cellular stress, they may not cause severe biological damage.
Why This Matters
This study provides important insights into how extremely low frequency magnetic fields affect brain cells, particularly in the hippocampus where memory formation occurs. The 2 milliTesla exposure level is quite high compared to typical household exposures, which usually range from 0.1 to 1 milliTesla near appliances, making these findings relevant for occupational settings or areas near high-voltage power lines. What's significant here is the demonstration of oxidative stress without severe cellular damage. The science demonstrates that even when cells show stress responses like increased reactive oxygen species, this doesn't necessarily translate to immediate cell death or DNA damage. However, chronic oxidative stress is a known contributor to neurological disorders over time, so the long-term implications of repeated exposure warrant further investigation.
Exposure Details
- Magnetic Field
- 2 mG
- Source/Device
- 50-Hz
Exposure Context
This study used 2 mG for magnetic fields:
- 100Kx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.2 mG
- 20Kx above the BioInitiative Report recommendation of 1 mG
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 evaluated the biological effects of different patterns of ELF-MF exposure on primary cultured hippocampal neurons in terms of viability, apoptosis, genomic instability, and oxidative stress.
The results showed that repeated exposure to 50-Hz 2-mT ELF-MF for 8 h per day after different times...
Show BibTeX
@article{y_2017_effects_of_single_and_488,
author = {Zeng Y and Shen Y and Hong L and Chen Y and Shi X and Zeng Q and Yu P},
title = {Effects of single and repeated exposure to a 50-Hz 2-mT electromagnetic field on primary cultured hippocampal neurons},
year = {2017},
url = {https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5567517/},
}