EMF Research Studies

Pall (2013) EMFs act via activation of voltage-gated calcium channels to produce beneficial or adverse effects

Unknown authors · 2013

(2013) Multifocal breast cancer in young women with prolonged contact between their breasts and their cellular phones

West et al · 2013

Researchers reported a case series of four young women aged 21 to 39 with multifocal invasive breast cancer. All patients regularly carried smartphones directly against their breasts in their brassieres for up to 10 hours a day over several years and developed tumors in the breast areas immediately underlying the phones. Pathology showed that all tumors were hormone-positive, low-intermediate grade, had an extensive intraductal component, and shared near identical morphology.

(2013) Pooled analysis of case-control studies on acoustic neuroma diagnosed 1997-2003 and 2007-2009 and use of mobile and cordless phones

Hardell et al · 2013

Researchers pooled data from both study periods of acoustic neuroma, including 316 cases and 3,530 controls. Unconditional logistic regression adjusted for age, gender, year of diagnosis, and socio-economic index. Analogue mobile phone use gave an odds ratio of 2.9, which increased to 7.7 with latency greater than 20 years. Digital 2G mobile phone use gave an odds ratio of 1.5, increasing to 1.8 with latency over 15 years. Cordless phone use gave an odds ratio of 1.5, rising to 6.5 with latency over 20 years.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation combined with cognitive training is a safe and effective modality for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease: a randomized, double-blind study

Unknown authors · 2013

Fifteen Alzheimer's patients were randomly assigned to receive 1-hour daily rTMS combined with cognitive training or sham treatment five sessions per week for six weeks followed by biweekly sessions for three months. The primary outcome was improvement in cognitive score. After six weeks the treatment group improved 3.76 points on ADAS-cog versus 0.47 in placebo (P=0.04), and after 4.5 months improved 3.52 points versus a worsening of 0.38 (P=0.05). Clinical Global Impression of Change scores improved in the treatment group compared to mild worsening in placebo at both time points (P=0.05 each). Neuropsychiatric Inventory scores improved non-significantly.

Effects of combined ferrous sulphate administration and exposure to static magnetic field on spatial learning and motor abilities in rats

Unknown authors · 2013

Researchers exposed rats to 128 mT static magnetic field and administered iron supplementation at 3 mg/kg for 5 days, then tested spatial learning in a water maze and motor abilities on rotarod, stationary beam, and suspended string tests. Water maze acquisition was unaffected in all groups. SMF-exposed and iron-treated rats showed a deficit in the 7-day retention test. No deficit was found in rotarod and suspended string tests in any group. Only iron-treated rats were impaired in the stationary beam test, and combined exposure did not worsen performance further.

Brain hsp70 expression and DNA damage in mice exposed to extremely low frequency magnetic fields: a dose-response study

Unknown authors · 2013

Researchers exposed male CD1 mice to 50 Hz ELF magnetic fields at 0.1, 0.2, 1, or 2 mT for 7 days, 15 hours per day. Hsp70 expression was measured in cerebral cortex-striatum, hippocampus, and cerebellum using RT-PCR and Western blot. DNA damage was assessed in the same tissues by comet assay. No changes in hsp70 mRNA or protein occurred except a weak mRNA increase in hippocampus at 0.1 mT. Mice exposed to 1 or 2 mT and sacrificed immediately showed increased DNA strand breaks in all brain areas, which returned to baseline after 24 hours.

DNA integrity of human leukocytes after magnetic resonance imaging

Unknown authors · 2013

Researchers exposed peripheral blood samples from healthy non-smoking male donors to 3T MRI electromagnetic fields for durations of 0, 22, 45, 67, and 89 minutes, with a positive control exposed to 4 Gy of cobalt-60 gamma radiation. DNA single-strand breaks were measured by the comet assay, and chromosome breakage, loss, and micronuclei formation were measured by the micronucleus test. The comet assay and micronucleus test showed no DNA damage from MRI exposure at any duration.

ELF alternating magnetic field decreases reproduction by DNA damage induction

Unknown authors · 2013

Researchers exposed newly eclosed Drosophila melanogaster to a 50-Hz alternating magnetic field at 1, 11, and 21 G continuously for the first 5 days of adult life. The magnetic field decreased reproductive capacity by up to 4.3%, with the effect increasing at higher field intensities. The decline in reproductive capacity was attributed to severe DNA fragmentation and cell death in reproductive cells, detected by TUNEL assay during early and mid-oogenesis. The increase in DNA damage was more significant than the corresponding decrease in reproductive capacity (up to ~7.5%).

Induction of heat shock gene expression in RAT1 primary fibroblast cells by ELF electric fields

Unknown authors · 2013

The study investigated HSP70 responses in transfected rat primary fibroblast cells exposed to 10 Hz electric fields at intensities of 20–500 V/m. Low frequency electric fields induced HSP70 heat shock expression, with peak responses at 8 hours after a 2 hour exposure. The approximate threefold increase was substantially lower than that from thermal stimulation, raising questions about clinical utility.

Extremely low-frequency magnetic field enhances the therapeutic efficacy of low-dose cisplatin in the treatment of Ehrlich carcinoma

Unknown authors · 2013

The study examined the therapeutic efficacy of low-dose cisplatin followed by exposure to a 10 mT extremely low-frequency magnetic field on Ehrlich carcinoma in vivo. Cytotoxic and genotoxic effects were assessed using comet assay, mitotic index, and micronucleus induction, and tumor growth inhibition was also measured. Mice receiving both cisplatin and the magnetic field showed a 54% increase in damaged cells, and tumor growth at day 12 was significantly suppressed in all treatment groups compared with controls.

Statistical validation of the acceleration of the differentiation at the expense of the proliferation in human epidermal cells exposed to extremely low frequency electric fields

Unknown authors · 2013

Evaluation of the effects of mobile phones on the neural tube development of chick embryos

Unknown authors · 2013

Researchers examined the effects of mobile phone radiation on developing neural tissue of chick embryos using four study groups. TUNEL results were statistically significant at 30 and 48 hours in the third group. Caspase-3 was negative in the control group at 48 and 72 hours and showed moderate activity in the third group. The study concluded that mobile phone radiation caused developmental delay in early chick embryos.

Short-duration exposure to 2.45 GHz microwave radiation induces DNA damage in Sprague Dawley rat’s reproductive systems

Unknown authors · 2013

Researchers assessed potential organ damage using histopathological study. Exposed rats showed significant differences in Olive moment and percent DNA in blood compared to controls. Hyperchromasia was observed in ovaries, and reduced germ cells with cell disorganization were seen in testes with increasing SARs.

Genotoxic effects of exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) in HL-60 cells are not reproducible

Speit G, Richard Gminski, Tauber R · 2013

Researchers performed a repeat study using the same experimental conditions as the REFLEX project to test for genotoxic effects of RF-EMF in HL-60 cells. The repeat experiments found no genotoxic effects of RF-EMF. The authors suggest that the biological significance of the REFLEX study's reported genotoxic effects should be re-assessed.

Effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields on seed germination and root meristematic cells of Allium cepa L.

Unknown authors · 2013

Melatonin protects rat thymus against oxidative stress caused by exposure to microwaves and modulates proliferation/apoptosis of thymocytes

Unknown authors · 2013

Researchers evaluated the effect of melatonin on oxidative stress, DNA fragmentation, apoptosis and proliferation in thymus tissue of rats exposed to microwaves. Wistar rats were divided into four groups: saline control, melatonin only, microwave exposed, and microwave exposed with melatonin treatment. Microwave exposure increased malondialdehyde, carbonyl groups, xanthine oxidase activity, alkaline and acid DNase activity, and apoptosis rate, while decreasing catalase activity and thymocyte proliferation. Melatonin prevented the oxidative stress markers, reversed enzyme activity changes, decreased DNase activity, reduced apoptosis, and increased thymocyte proliferation.

2.45 GHz Microwave Irradiation-Induced Oxidative Stress Affects Implantation or Pregnancy in Mice, Mus musculus

Unknown authors · 2013

Effect of puerarin on matrix metalloproteinase-2 in human fetal scleral fibroblasts treated with low frequency electromagnetic fields

Unknown authors · 2013

Researchers exposed cultured human fetal scleral fibroblasts to 0.2 mT ELF-EMF for 24 hours. The cells were treated with puerarin at concentrations of 0, 0.1, 1, and 10 microM. MMP-2 mRNA and protein expression increased by 0.793 and 1.130 folds respectively after ELF-EMF exposure. Puerarin at 0.1 microM reversed the effect by 8.53% in mRNA and 17.97% in protein expression, with greater reversal at 1 and 10 microM.

SAR and temperature distribution in the rat head model exposed to electromagnetic field radiation by 900 MHz dipole antenna.

Yang L, Hao D, Wu S, Zhong R, Zeng Y. · 2013

The study numerically evaluated specific absorption rate and temperature rise in SD rat heads exposed to 900 MHz EMF. The digital anatomical model of a SD rat was reconstructed from MRI images and the finite difference time domain method was applied to assess SAR and temperature rise. Whole-body average SAR and localized SAR averaged over 1, 0.5 and 0.05 g mass for different organs and tissues were reported.

Investigating short-term exposure to electromagnetic fields on reproductive capacity of invertebrates in the field situation.

Vijver MG et al. · 2013

A field experiment exposed four invertebrate species at different distances from a GSM 900 MHz transmitter for 48 hours, with controls shielded by Faraday cages. The response variables measured were fecundity and number of offspring. Results showed no significant impact of EMF exposure on reproductive endpoints, and distance was not an adequate proxy for dose-response.

Mobile phone radiation during pubertal development has no effect on testicular histology in rats.

Tumkaya L, Kalkan Y, Bas O, Yilmaz A. · 2013

Researchers exposed 6 male Sprague Dawley rats to a mobile phone for 1 hour per day for 45 days while 6 control rats remained unexposed. Testes were examined with hematoxylin-eosin, caspase 3, and Ki-67 staining. No differences were found between exposed and control groups in testicular histology (p > 0.05). Interstitial connective tissue and seminiferous tubules appeared normal in exposed rats. The authors concluded that low specific absorption rate mobile phones have no harmful effects on pubertal rat testicles.

Histological and Cytological Examination of Rat Reproductive Tissue After Short-Time Intermittent Radiofrequency Exposure / HISTOLOŠKA I CITOLOŠKA ISTRAŽIVANJA TKIVA REPRODUKTIVNOG SUSTAVA ŠTAKORA NAKON KRATKOTRAJNE ISPREKIDANE IZLOŽENOSTI RADIOFREKVENCIJSKOM ZRAČENJU.

Trošić I, Mataušić-Pišl M, Pavičić I, Marjanović AM. · 2013

Researchers divided 18 adult male rats into two groups of nine and exposed one group to a 915 MHz RF field with a power density of 2.4 W m(-2) and a field strength of 30 V m(-1) for one hour daily over two weeks. Body mass and temperature were measured before and after each exposure, after which testes were prepared for histology and epididymal sperm were assessed for quantity, quality, and morphology. No statistically significant alterations were found in any endpoint, and the authors concluded that short-time intermittent RF exposure does not represent a significant risk factor for rat reproductive functions.

Exposure to acute electromagnetic radiation of mobile phone exposure range alters transiently skin homeostasis of a model of pigmented reconstructed epidermis.

Simon D et al. · 2013

Researchers exposed reconstructed epidermis models with and without melanocytes to 900 MHz GSM radiation at 2 mW/g for 6 hours. No changes were observed in epidermal architecture, epidermal markers, apoptotic cells, p53 induction, melanocyte location, dendricity, or melanin transfer after exposure. Loricrin and cytokeratin 14 decreased significantly at 6 hours, but all marker levels increased at 24 hours compared to 6 hours, alongside decreased 20S proteasome activity. The presence or absence of melanocytes did not affect the response of the reconstructed epidermis to exposure.

New Zealand adolescents' cellphone and cordless phone user-habits: are they at increased risk of brain tumours already? A cross-sectional study.

Redmayne M · 2013

The cross-sectional study recruited 373 Year 7 and 8 students with a mean age of 12.3 years from the Wellington region of New Zealand. Participants completed a questionnaire and measured their normal body-to-phone texting distances. Both cellphones and cordless phones were used by approximately 90% of students. A third of participants had already used a cordless phone for ≥ 7 years. High cellphone use was related to cellphone location at night, being woken regularly, and being tired at school.

The semen quality of the mobile phone users.

Rago R et al. · 2013

The study enrolled healthy men and divided them into four groups based on daily mobile phone use: no use (10 men), less than two hours (16 men), two to four hours (17 men), and more than four hours (20 men). Among the men using phones more than four hours daily, researchers compared 12 who carried the phone in a trousers pocket with 8 who carried it in a shirt pocket. Conventional sperm parameters such as density, total count, morphology, and progressive motility did not differ significantly between groups. However, sperm DNA fragmentation was higher in the group using phones more than four hours per day and in those who carried the phone in a trousers pocket.