Blackman C · 2012
Researchers examined the growth rate of human tumour cell lines from liver and breast cancers along with normal cells from those tissues exposed to amplitude-modulated electromagnetic fields. Tumour cells exposed to tissue-specific AM-EMF showed reduced growth rates while normal cells from the same tissue and cells from the other tissue type showed no change. The growth inhibition depended on field strength and exposure time, and ancillary tests found reduced gene expression and increased mitotic spindle dysfunction only for the AM-EMF exposure that reduced cell growth.
Unknown authors · 2012
Researchers examined nocturnal profiles of blood parameters including electrolytes, nonprotein nitrogenous compounds, and glucose in 15 men exposed chronically to 50-Hz magnetic fields for 1 to 20 years. The exposed group had weekly geometric mean exposures ranging from 0.1 to 2.6 μT. Results were compared to 15 unexposed men of similar age with exposures ranging from 0.004 to 0.092 μT. Exposed men showed significant changes in serum sodium, chloride, phosphorus, and glucose for exposures greater than 0.3 μT. The authors concluded that long-term exposure above 0.3 μT could induce biological modifications of certain blood parameters, though clinical relevance needs further investigation.
Narinyan L et al · 2012
Researchers studied the effect of a 0.2 T static magnetic field on heart muscle hydration in young, adult, and older rats with and without ouabain poisoning. SMF exposure dehydrated heart muscle in young rats by 21% and in adult rats by 6.2%, but had no effect on older rats. In young rats without ouabain, SMF caused dehydration, while in ouabain-poisoned young rats it caused hydration of 29.6%. Providing distilled water for seven days increased hydration in older rats by 5.7% and enhanced the SMF-induced hydration effect by 12%. The authors suggest that age-related differences in magnetosensitivity are due to initial tissue hydration levels and Na+/K+ pump dysfunction.
Unknown authors · 2012
Researchers measured electromagnetic field intensity in two workplaces and collected health data from 188 control workers and 642 occupationally exposed workers. Electric and magnetic field intensities were significantly higher in the exposure workplaces than in the control workplace. Noise levels did not differ significantly between the two workplaces. The exposed workers showed significantly higher abnormal rates of HCY, ALT, AST, GGT, and ECG findings compared to controls. The groups did not differ in sex, age, height, or weight.
Unknown authors · 2012
Researchers recruited 28 newborns who had spent at least 48 hours in incubators with significant electromagnetic fields and measured their urinary melatonin metabolite before and after moving them to cribs with negligible fields. They also measured the same metabolite twice over 48 hours in 27 control newborns not exposed to electromagnetic fields. The metabolite level rose significantly after removal from the incubator, while no significant change occurred in the control group.
Teepen JC, van Dijck JA · 2012
The review evaluated evidence for a causal relation between electromagnetic fields and childhood leukemia. Three pooled analyses of case-control studies showed a 1.4- to 1.7-fold increased risk for ELF-EMF exposure above 0.3 μT. The estimated overall population attributable risk was 1.9%, with highest estimates in Northern America and Brazil at 4.2% and 4.1%. No proposed biological mechanisms for ELF-EMF causing childhood leukemia have been confirmed.
Unknown authors · 2012
Unknown authors · 2012
The review examined animal and in vitro studies of extremely low frequency magnetic fields to assess mechanistic support for a link to neurodegenerative diseases. The authors hypothesized that such exposure could promote inflammation and affect disease progression. Studies on neurodegenerative disease endpoints showed either no effect or positive effects on neuronal viability and differentiation.
Unknown authors · 2012
Seventeen pairs of male volunteers aged 20-30 were exposed to a 50 Hz electromagnetic field at 62.0 ± 7.1 μT for two hours or to a sham exposure at 0.21 ± 0.05 μT. The exposure sequence was repeated the next day and again six days later with a null exposure of 0.085 ± 0.01 μT replacing the sham. Researchers examined 16 genes previously reported to respond to ELF-EMF exposure using Illumina microarrays on pooled RNA samples. No genes or gene sets showed consistent response profiles to the repeated ELF-EMF exposures. A transient cortisol increase occurred at the onset of both exposure and sham on the first day, diminishing over subsequent sessions and attributed to protocol-related stress.
Unknown authors · 2012
The review synthesizes the emerging evidence about this topic. It highlights wide data uncertainty that still characterizes the EMF effect on oxidative stress modulation. Both pro-oxidant and neuroprotective effects have been documented. Two decades of epidemiological studies consistently assessed an increased risk for childhood leukemia associated with extremely low frequency fields, leading the International Agency for Research on Cancer to classify them as Group 2B carcinogens in 2001.
Unknown authors · 2012
Researchers measured radiofrequency fields at public access points in 46 towns with 76 GSM cell sites in two major Ghanaian cities. Measurements used a log-periodic antenna coupled with a spectrum analyzer. At 900 MHz, levels ranged from 0.85 to 1.07 mW m⁻²; at 1800 MHz, from 0.78 to 1.19 mW m⁻². All measured levels complied with the ICNIRP limit, reaching only 0.024% of that limit. However, levels were 108 times higher than those found in a similar Ghanaian survey two years earlier.
Murbach M et al · 2012
The system provides the same exposure of the lateral cerebral cortex at two different RF frequencies (900 and 2140 MHz) but with different exposure levels at subcortical structures. The RF modulation and ELF signal are generated by a freely programmable arbitrary signal generator enabling simulation of worst-case exposure scenarios from wireless devices. The maximum achievable RF exposure exceeds 60 W/kg peak spatial specific absorption rate averaged over 10 g of tissue.
Unknown authors · 2012
Researchers analyzed incidence data from the Los Angeles County Cancer Surveillance Program, the California Cancer Registry, and the National Cancer Institute's SEER program for 1992 to 2006. Glioblastoma multiforme rates rose in the frontal and temporal lobes across all registries and in the cerebellum according to the California Cancer Registry, while rates fell in the overlapping region. Rates in the parietal and occipital lobes remained stable. Overall glioma rates decreased, and low-grade and anaplastic astrocytoma rates decreased in most brain regions.
Unknown authors · 2012
Unknown authors · 2012
The cohort included at best 420,095 persons, representing 58% of the initial cohort. The study design offers the possibility to eliminate non-response, selection, and recall bias, but it has serious limitations related to exposure assessment. These limitations cloud the findings of the four reports to such an extent that they are uninformative at best.
Unknown authors · 2012
A wide range of EMF frequencies has been linked to an increased risk of cancer. The SAR value used for radiofrequency safety standards fails to predict cancer risk in the ELF power frequency range. Because cancers are believed to arise from mutations in DNA, changes in DNA induced by EMF interaction could be a better measure of biologically effective dose in both frequency ranges. Such DNA changes can be measured by transcriptional alterations and/or translational changes in specific proteins.
Repacholi M et al · 2012
The former Soviet Union and the United States were the first countries to introduce radiofrequency exposure limits. The article summarizes the scientific evidence used to develop the original USSR and subsequent Russian public health standards, including the 2003 mobile telecommunications standard. The article describes the protective approaches used by Soviet and Russian scientists for setting their limits.
Unknown authors · 2012
Researchers exposed male Sprague-Dawley rats to RF-EMF for 45 minutes per day, five days per week, for up to eight weeks. Each signal had a whole-body average SAR of 2.0 W/kg. The combined exposure did not affect the measured immune parameters.
Unknown authors · 2012
A new rule-based approach is presented to overcome weaknesses in classifying and communicating evidence of health risks such as from electromagnetic fields. The approach was developed by the German Commission on Radiological Protection and discloses step-by-step criteria for weighing scientific data. It pools partial evidences from different scientific approaches to conclude on overall evidence of causality. The validity of the approach was demonstrated by analyzing evidence of carcinogenicity of ionizing radiation, mobile phone use, and nocturnal exposure to visible light.
Unknown authors · 2012
Researchers measured unstimulated parotid salivary flow rate bilaterally in 142 individuals divided into heavy users and control subjects using a modified Schirmer test. Bilateral parotid ultrasonography was performed to evaluate gland volume. Heavy users showed a significant increase in salivary flow rate, blood flow rate, and parotid gland volume on the side where phones are frequently placed.
Unknown authors · 2012
Researchers surveyed 373 adolescents in the Wellington Region of New Zealand about their SMS texting and cordless phone call estimates. The recall data showed a logarithmic mental process with responses becoming less specific as leading digits increased from 1 to 9. Sixty-nine percent of weekly text responses were rounded to a single non-zero digit such as 2, 20, or 200.
Unknown authors · 2012
Researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 88 peer-reviewed publications from 1990 to 2011 assessing genetic damage in human cells exposed to radiofrequency fields. The analysis examined five exposure variables: frequency, specific absorption rate, exposure type, duration, and cell type. The magnitude of difference between RF-exposed and control cells was small with some exceptions. Statistically significant increases in genotoxicity were observed in some endpoints under certain conditions, but these effects were seen in studies with small sample sizes and were largely influenced by publication bias. Studies within recommended exposure guidelines showed smaller effects, and mean indices for chromosomal aberrations, micronuclei, and sister chromatid exchange were within spontaneous levels.
Yu D, Zhang R, Liu Q. · 2012
Wallace D et al. · 2012
Researchers conducted a randomized double-blind provocation study to test whether short-term exposure to a TETRA base station signal affects health and well-being. Fifty-one electrosensitive individuals and 132 matched controls took part, with 48 electrosensitive and 132 control participants completing double-blind tests in a screened semianechoic chamber. Under double-blind conditions, no differences were found on any measure between TETRA and sham exposure, and neither group could detect the signal above chance. When conditions were not double-blind, electrosensitive participants reported feeling worse and more severe symptoms during TETRA exposure. The researchers suggest that adverse symptoms in electrosensitive individuals are due to the belief of harm from TETRA base stations.
Stewart A, Rao JN, Middleton JD, Pearmain P, Evans T · 2012
Residents expressed concern about cancers after a nearby mobile phone base station was installed. The study examined ward-level cancer incidence and mortality data over four three-year periods. Nineteen residents had developed cancer, but the cases did not meet the criteria for a cancer cluster.
