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Salford, LG,
AE Brun, JL Eberhardt, L Malmgren and BRR Persson. 2003.
Nerve cell damage in mammalian brain after exposure to microwaves from
GSM mobile phones |
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What did they
find? As expected, both
control and experimental animals had albumin within the hypothalamus.
This is normal. A closer look shows things far from normal!
Exposed animals (Right), however, were much more likely to have albumin
leaking from blood vessels in inappropriate locations. Control animals,
(not exposed) in contrast, showed either no albumin leakage or
occasional isolated spots, as seen in the actual picture on the left. A
closer look at the cells within the brain revealed that exposed animals
had "scattered and grouped dark neurons... often shrunken.. with loss of
internal cell structures." These altered neurons were seen in all
locations, but "especially the cortex, hippocampus and basal ganglia."
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A word of caution?
Research on rats suggests that heavy use of mobile phones
may put people at risk for
neuronal damage.
The idea that frequent
exposure to the electromagnetic fields (EMFs) generated by
mobile phones could cause adverse health effects has taken
on the status of urban myth in many people's minds due to
the lack of definitive scientific evidence. But startling
new findings by a team of researchers from Lund University
in Sweden make the issue once again a cause for genuine
concern--and suggest it
might be time to get serious about using your headset
when talking on your mobile phone and encouraging your
family members to do the same |
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Salford et al.
document serious neuronal damage in rat brains following
exposure to microwave radiation from a cell phone, at levels
comparable to what people would experience during normal use.
Damage to nerve cells was observed in several places within the
brain, including the cortex, hippocampus and basal ganglia. It
was associated with evidence of leakage of proteins through the
blood-brain barrier. The authors express concern that "after
some decades of (often) daily use, a whole generation of [cell
phone] users may suffer negative effects, perhaps as early as
middle age."
In a companion news story in the issue of Environmental Health
Perspectives in which the research is published, the journal
comments: "It might be time to get serious about using your
headset when talking on your mobile phone and encouraging your
family members to do the same."
What did they do?
Salford et al. exposed rats to microwave radiation from a GSM
cell phone, varying the intensity of radiation across a range
that would be experienced by mobile phone users. The rats were
contained within plastic trays inside a specially constructed
wooden box that allowed free movement, other than to prevent
direct contact with the source of radiation. One set of animals
was placed in the box without turning on the transmitter; they
served as a control group. The others were exposed to peak power
densities of 0.24, 2.4 and 24 Watts/square meter (which
translates to 2 milliWatts per kg, 20 mW/kg and 200 mW/kg,
respectively). Each group contained 8 animals.
After a 50-day waiting period, during which the rats were
monitored for behavioral abnormalities, Salford et al. killed
the animals, carefully removed their brains, and studied them by
applying stains and albumin antibodies that allowed detection of
abnormalities.
Salford and his colleagues
scored the rat brains
for the number of dark neurons. They observed that higher
exposures produced more dark neurons
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The number of small horizontal bars indicates the number in
each treatment group with a given score. All treatment
groups differed significantly from the control group.
Adapted from Salford et al. |
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What does it
mean? Most of the public debate about possible health
effects of microwave radiation from cell phones has focused on
cancer. While debate about this continues, most studies,
including by Salford's research team, have had negative results.
This work focuses on
a different mechanism which had been identified by earlier
authors (e.g., Oscar and Hawkins 1977) but not pursued
vigorously: increased permeability of the blood-brain barrier.
These results cleary establish an adverse impact at levels
within the range experienced by people using cell phones.
According to
these scientists, "intense use of mobile phones by youngsters is
a serious consideration. A neuronal damage of the kind described
here may not have immediate, demonstrable consequences, even if
repeated. In the long run, however, it may result in reduced
brain reserve capacity that might be unveiled by other later
neuronal disease or even the wear and tear of aging. We cannot
exclude that after some decades of (often) daily use, a whole
generation of users may suffer negative effects, perhaps as
early as in middle age."
That is a cautious way of saying that Salford and his team of
scientists are very concerned about the possible human impacts
of cell phone use. Indeed, as noted above, the journal in which
these results were published, Environmental Health Perspectives
(the journal of the National Institute of Environmental Health
Sciences), went so far as to recommend using headsets.
"PLEASE READ SAFE HEADSET
USAGE"
Our
SCP
System provides your family with maximum protection from
rf radiation and driving hazards. Be RF Safe To Be Sure! |
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