The study, conducted by a team of researchers at Jawaharlal Nehru University in India, used a sample of 26 male Wistar rats to investigate the effects of short-term acute exposure to RF-EMR on oxidative stress and redox-sensitive processes in the brain. The rats were exposed to 2115 MHz RF-EMR for 8 hours, after which their brain tissue was analyzed for signs of oxidative stress and DNA damage.

Acute radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation exposure impairs neurogenesis and causes neuronal DNA damage in the young rat brain

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0161813X22001747

The results of the study showed that the rats exposed to RF-EMR had significantly higher levels of carbon-centered radicals and lipid peroxidation in their brain tissue, compared to the control group of rats. Additionally, the exposed rats had single-strand DNA breaks in the cortex and hippocampus, impaired neurogenesis in the hippocampus, and increased neuronal degeneration in the dentate gyrus (DG) region of the hippocampus.

One important aspect of the study is that it was conducted on young adolescent rats, which are a more relevant model for studying the potential effects of RF-EMR on human brain health, as the brain is still developing during adolescence. This is an important consideration, as previous studies on the effects of RF-EMR have mostly been conducted on adult animals or cell cultures, which may not accurately reflect the impacts on the developing brain.

It is important to note, however, that the results of animal studies like this one cannot be directly extrapolated to humans. Further research is needed to fully understand the potential impacts of RF-EMR on human brain health, including long-term exposure and effects on different brain regions and populations.

Overall, this study provides valuable new insights into the potential effects of RF-EMR on the developing brain, and highlights the need for further research to fully understand the potential risks and implications for human health. The authors also declare that the experimental procedures were approved by the institutional animal ethical committee, and were performed following the CPCSEA guidelines and Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments (ARRIVE) guidelines. Additionally, the study was partly supported by the UPE II project, Department of Science and Technology PURSE fund of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and institute core funds from the International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB).

 

The present study aimed to investigate the effects of short-term acute exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMR) on oxidative stress and redox-sensitive processes in the young brain. The study used 26 male Wistar rats of age 5 weeks, which were acquired from Central Laboratory Animal Resources and housed under a 12-hour light-dark cycle at 25°C room temperature with food and water provided ad libitum. After one week of habituation, the animals were randomly exposed to 2115 MHz RF-EMR for 8 hours.

The study found that exposure to RF-EMR caused oxidative stress in the rat cortex and hippocampus. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra of the cortex and hippocampus tissue homogenate showed a significant increase in the concentration of carbon-centered radicals with adjacent oxygen in the sample, as denoted by the g-factor of 2.0035. Furthermore, lipid peroxidation was also found to be increased in the brain of RF-EMR exposed rats.

The study also found that RF-EMR exposure led to DNA damage in the brain’s cortex and hippocampus regions, as well as reduced neurogenesis and neuronal degeneration in the dentate gyrus (DG) region of the hippocampus. This indicates that RF-EMR exposure can have negative effects on the brain’s ability to repair and regenerate itself.

The study’s authors note that while these findings are significant, they are limited in their ability to be extrapolated to humans. However, they suggest that the results of this animal model may be used to further evaluate the potential health risks of RF-EMR exposure in humans.

The study received ethical approval from the institutional animal ethical committee of Jawaharlal Nehru University, and the experiments were performed following guidelines from the committee for the purpose of control and supervision of experiments on animals and the Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments.

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. The study was partly supported by funds from Jawaharlal Nehru University, the International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, and several Indian government organizations.

In conclusion, this study has shown that short-term acute exposure to RF-EMR can lead to oxidative stress and DNA damage in the young brain, as well as reduced neurogenesis and neuronal degeneration. While these findings are limited in their ability to be extrapolated to humans, they raise important concerns about the potential health risks of RF-EMR exposure. Further research is needed to fully understand the effects of RF-EMR on the human brain.