Effects of acute exposure to the radiofrequency fields of cellular phones on plasma lipid peroxide and antioxidase activities in human erythrocytes.
Moustafa YM, Moustafa RM, Belacy A, Abou-El-Ela SH, Ali FM · 2001
View Original AbstractCell phones in standby mode created measurable oxidative stress and cellular damage in healthy volunteers within just one hour of pocket carry.
Plain English Summary
Researchers had 12 healthy men carry cell phones in their pockets for up to 4 hours and measured markers of oxidative stress in their blood. They found that even phones in standby mode significantly increased harmful lipid peroxides (cellular damage markers) and reduced the activity of protective antioxidant enzymes. This suggests that cell phone radiation creates harmful free radicals in the body, potentially damaging cells through oxidative stress.
Why This Matters
This study provides direct evidence that cell phone radiation creates oxidative stress in human blood, even when phones are just sitting in standby mode. What makes this particularly concerning is that the exposure was relatively minimal compared to active phone use, yet still produced measurable biological changes within just one hour. The researchers found increased lipid peroxidation, which essentially means cellular membranes were being damaged by free radicals generated by the RF exposure. The science demonstrates that our bodies' natural antioxidant defenses were also compromised, with key protective enzymes showing reduced activity. This research fits into a broader pattern of studies showing that RF radiation can overwhelm our cellular repair mechanisms, potentially contributing to long-term health effects through accumulated oxidative damage.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study. Duration: 1, 2 and 4 h
Study Details
Radiofrequency fields of cellular phones may affect biological systems by increasing free radicals, which appear mainly to enhance lipid peroxidation, and by changing the antioxidase activities of human blood thus leading to oxidative stress. To test this, we have investigated the effect of acute exposure to radiofrequency fields of commercially available cellular phones on some parameters indicative of oxidative stress in 12 healthy adult male volunteers.
Each volunteer put the phone in his pocket in standby position with the keypad facing the body. The...
The results obtained showed that the plasma level of lipid peroxide was significantly increased afte...
These results indicate that acute exposure to radiofrequency fields of commercially available cellular phones may modulate the oxidative stress of free radicals by enhancing lipid peroxidation and reducing the activation of SOD and GSH-Px, which are free radical scavengers. Therefore, these results support the interaction of radiofrequency fields of cellular phones with biological system
Show BibTeX
@article{ym_2001_effects_of_acute_exposure_2447,
author = {Moustafa YM and Moustafa RM and Belacy A and Abou-El-Ela SH and Ali FM},
title = {Effects of acute exposure to the radiofrequency fields of cellular phones on plasma lipid peroxide and antioxidase activities in human erythrocytes.},
year = {2001},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11516912/},
}