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updated: November 1, 2008 Study suggests that mobile phones do not affect subjective symptoms The study of Cinel et al assessed radiofrequency fields (RF) and mobile phones and its effect on subjective symptoms. Participants (n=496) were separated into three groups and exposed to RF from mobile phones and also shamed-exposed in a double blind design. A questionnaire was used to assess five subjective symptoms and was administered before and after the study. Only one group of participants was affected by radiofrequency field exposure and only for the symptom of dizziness. The authors conclude that the results of this study do not suggest that mobile phone radiofrequency field exposure affects subjective symptoms. Cinel C, Russo R, Boldini A, Fox E. (2008). Exposure to mobile phone electromagnetic fields and subjective symptoms: a double-blind study. Psychosom Med 70(3):345-348. For more see “Research – clinical – general” Study confirms UMTS 3rd generation mobile phone radiofrequency field exposure does not affect attentional processes. In a double-blind study, the authors assessed the effects of radiofrequency field (RF) exposure from UMTS mobile phone on human attention in 29 participants. Subjects were either exposed or sham-exposed and presented with different sound intensity. Results do not show any significant effect of radiofrequency field on the amplitude and latency of the attentional components measured. Brain gamma activity was not affected by RF which indicates that 20 minutes of RF from third generation mobile phones has no effect on attentional components. Stefanics G, Thuróczy G, Kellényi L, Hernádi I. Effects of twenty-minute 3G mobile phone irradiation on event related potential components and early gamma synchronization in auditory oddball paradigm. Neuroscience Ahead of print Sep 9 2008. For more see “Research – clinical – other - hearing”
The objective of the study was to assess whether the causes and mechanism of headaches in participants could be induced by radiofrequency fields (RF). A questionnaire and interview with a neurologist were used to determine the location and features of the headaches. A total of 17 participants completed 130 trials including both exposed and sham-exposed. The results indicate that no significant differences were found regarding the characteristics of the headaches when exposed to RF or sham-exposed. The authors mentioned that the headaches in this provocation study are probably caused by negative expectations (nocebo). It was concluded that headache occurring while using a mobile phone is not caused by RF. Stovner LJ, Oftedal G, Straume A, Johnsson A. (2008). Nocebo as headache trigger: evidence from a sham-controlled provocation study with RF fields. Acta Neurol Scand Suppl 188:67-71. For more see “Research – clinical - general”
The study was designed to assess the effect of GSM signals emitted by mobile phones on the electrical activity in human brain measured by EEG. Participants were 9 healthy individuals and 6 temporal epileptic patients. They were exposed to GSM signals and the EEG activity was recorded during exposed and non-exposure (control). Results indicate that radiofrequency fields emitted by mobile phones changed the EEG activity in the 2 groups of participants. Although radiofrequency fields produced some biological effects measured by the EEG, the authors conclude that these effects are not enough to develop any electrophysiological hypothesis for radiofrequency fields. Maby E, Le Bouquin Jeannes R, Faucon G. (2006). Short-term effects of GSM mobile phones on spectral components of the human electroencephalogram. Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc 1:3751-4. For more see “Research – clinical – EEG” No biological effects noted on alpha band power (electrical brain activity) following GSM exposure from mobile phones. The objective of the study was to replicate results from a previous study on human EEG that reported an increase in alpha band power for a low frequency modulated radiofrequency signal. The study was designed to have a better representation of true mobile phone exposure in 12 participants. The individuals were exposed for 15 minutes to a dipole antenna similar to a GSM mobile phone. Results of the experiment are that the GSM signal, either modulated or unmodulated, did not change alpha band power. The authors suggest that the lower and more representative exposure used in their study is most likely the reason why they could not replicate the previous result. No health effects were also found when non-linear features of resting EEG were tested using different analyses. Perentos N, Croft RJ, McKenzie RJ, Cvetkovic D, Cosic I. (2007). Comparison of the effects of continuous and pulsed mobile phone like RF exposure on the human EEG. Australas Phys Eng Sci Med. 30(4):274-280. For more see “Research – clinical – EEG”Go to abstract >
For more see “Research – exposure assessment” Metallic jewellery near the eyebrow increases the SAR but without exceeding the safety limits. Whittow et al designed a study to measure the potential effects on specific absorption rate (SAR) of jewellery (pin) in front of the face. Exposure to 900 and 1800 MHz was used in addition to illuminated metallic pins of different lengths on an anatomically realistic head model. Results of the simulation show that the increase in specific absorption rate for 1 g and 10 g was about 3 times for the 1800 MHz exposure. Metallic pins affected averaged SAR by redistributing the energy from inside the head to the area close to the centre of the pin. The safety standards for SAR limit were not exceeded even though the metallic pin did increase the SAR values. Whittow WG, Panagamuwa CJ, Edwards RM, Vardaxoglou JC. (2008). On the effects of straight metallic jewellery on the specific absorption rates resulting from face-illuminating radio communication devices at popular cellular frequencies. Phys Med Biol 53(5):1167-1182. For more see “Research – exposure assessment” Shielding disk attached to mobile phone reduces the intensity of radiofrequency radiation A novel in-vitro method was used to assess changes in human DNA following 5 minutes of exposure to radiofrequency (RF) fields emitted by mobile phones. Results of the experiment indicate that RF from mobile phones increased the rate of DNA rewinding by 40%. But, this effect was reduced by 95% when the same experiment was done with a commercially available shielding disk sheet with paramagnetic mineral. Another type of experiment was done to measure the efficacy of the shielding disk in reducing RF radiation from mobile phone. Results show that the intensity was approximately 50% lower in the presence of the shield disk. The authors conclude that the results of their experiments show that the shielding disk is efficient in protecting the body from RF radiation emitted by mobile phones. Syldona M. (2007). Reducing the in-vitro electromagnetic field effect of cellular phones on human DNA and the intensity of their emitted radiation. Acupunct Electrother Res 32(1-2):1-14. For more see “Research – laboratory – cancer
studies”
The authors tested the hypothesis that variations in the physiological state of cells explain inconsistent results from in vitro studies on biological effects of RF radiation. Murine L929 fibroblasts stimulated with fresh medium, stressed with serum deprivation or not subjected to stimulation or stress were exposed in a waveguide exposure chamber to 872 MHz continuous wave or pulse modulated (217 pulses per second) RF radiation at a SAR of 5 W/kg. Ornithine decarboxylase activity after 1-and 24-h exposures, proliferation during 48 h after 24 h exposure, and caspase-3 activity (a measure of apoptosis) after 1 h exposure were measured. The results did not support effects on the endpoints studied. Furthermore, stressed and stimulated cells were not more sensitive than normal cells to possible RF radiation-induced effects. Hoyto A, Sokura M, Juutilainen J, Naarala J. (2008). Radiofrequency radiation does not significantly affect ornithine decarboxylase activity, proliferation, or caspase-3 activity of fibroblasts in different physiological conditions. International Journal of Radiation Biology 84( 9):727 – 733. For more see “Research – laboratory – cancer studies”
Eberhardt JL, Persson BRR, Brun AE, Salford LG, Malmgren LOG. (2008). Blood-Brain Barrier Permeability and Nerve Cell Damage in Rat Brain 14 and 28 Days After Exposure to Microwaves from GSM Mobile Phones Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine, 27( 3):215 – 229. For more see “Research – laboratory – brain function”
The authors have described frequency-dependent effects of GSM mobile
phones on human lymphocytes from persons reporting hypersensitivity to electromagnetic
fields (EMF) and healthy persons. They report for the first time
that radiation from UMTS affect chromatin and inhibit
formation of DNA double-strand breaks co-localizing
53BP1/gamma-H2AX DNA repair foci in human lymphocytes from hypersensitive and
healthy persons and confirm that effects of radiation from GSM depend on carrier
frequency. For more see “Research – laboratory – cancer studies”
The investigators monitored cellular and molecular changes in Jurkat human T lymphoma cells after irradiating with 1763 MHz RF radiation at SAR of 10 W/kg to understand the effect on immune cells. Jurkat T-cells were exposed to RF radiation to assess the effects on cell proliferation, cell cycle progression, DNA damage and gene expression. RF exposure did not produce significant changes in cell numbers, cell cycle distributions, or levels of DNA damage. Huang TQ, Lee MS, Oh E, Zhang BT, Seo JS, Park WY. (2008). Molecular responses of Jurkat T-cells to 1763 MHz radiofrequency radiation. Int J Radiat Biol 84(9):734-741. For more see “Research – laboratory – other - immune system” Vitamins E and C reduce oxidative stress in rat endometrium exposed to 900 MHz radiofrequency fields emitted from mobile phones The authors examined 900 MHz mobile phone-induced oxidative stress that promotes
production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and investigated the role of vitamins
E and C, which have antioxidant properties, on endometrial tissue against possible
mobile phone-induced endometrial impairment in rats. The animals were randomly
grouped (eight each) as follows: 1) Control group (without stress and radiofrequency
(RF) radiation), 2) sham-operated rats stayed without exposure to RF radiation
(exposure device off), 3) rats exposed to 900 MHz RF radiation (RF radiation
group) and 4) a 900 MHz exposed + vitamin-treated group (RF radiation + Vit
group). A 900 MHz was applied to RF radiation and RF radiation + Vit group
30min/day, for 30 days using an experimental exposure device. Endometrial levels
of nitric oxide (NO, an oxidant product) and malondialdehyde (MDA, an index
of lipid peroxidation), increased in electromagnetic radiation (EMR) exposed
rats while the combined vitamins E and C caused a significant reduction in
the levels of NO and MDA. Likewise, endometrial superoxide dismutase (SOD),
catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities decreased in
RF exposed animals while vitamins E and C caused a significant increase in
the activities of these antioxidant enzymes. In the RF group, histopathological
changes in endometrium, diffuse and severe apoptosis was present in the endometrial
surface epithelial and glandular cells and the stromal cells. The authors concluded
that oxidative endometrial changes are predominant in the 900 MHz mobile phone-induced
endometrial damage. Oxidative stress is reduced in the presence of vitamins
E and C and the 900 MHz mobile phone-induced endometrial damage both at biochemical
and histological levels is minimized. For more see “Research – laboratory – other – free
oxygen radicals”
Yang L, Ge M, Guo J, Wang Q, Jiang X, Yan W. (2007). A simulation for effects of RF electromagnetic radiation from a mobile handset on eyes model using the finite-difference time-domain method. Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2007: 5294-7. For more see “Research – laboratory – ocular effects”
The objective of the research was to investigate potential adverse health effects from GSM mobile phones on the human hearing system. The participants were 30 healthy volunteers (18-26 year old) with normal hearing and were divided into 2 groups; (1) exposed, (2) sham-exposed in a double blind design. Hearing data were measured before and following a 10 minute exposure to 900 MHz radiofrequency field emitted by a Nokia mobile phone. The results indicate no significant changes were observed in the latency of auditory brainstem response waves I, III and V in both groups before and after 10 minutes of exposure. The authors conclude that mobile phone does not produce measurable immediate effects in the human hearing system. Stefanics G, Kellényi L, Molnár F, Kubinyi G, Thuróczy G, Hernádi I. (2007). Short GSM mobile phone exposure does not alter human auditory brainstem response. BMC Public Health 7:325. For more see “Research – clinical – other - hearing”
The authors investigated whether superposing of electromagnetic noise could block or attenuate DNA damage and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) increase of cultured human lens epithelial cells induced by acute radiofrequency field (RF) exposure to GSM of 1.8 GHz at SARs of 1, 2, 3, and 4 W/kg. RF radiation at the SAR of 3 W/kg and 4 W/kg induced significant DNA damage, examined by alkaline comet assay, which was used to detect mainly single strand breaks, while no statistical difference in double strand breaks was found between RF exposure (SAR: 3 and 4 W/kg) and sham exposure groups. When RF was superposed with 2 mT electromagnetic noise, it could block RF-induced ROS increase and DNA damage. Yao K, Wu W, Wang K, Ni S, Ye P, Yu Y, Ye J, Sun L. (2008). Electromagnetic noise inhibits radiofrequency radiation-induced DNA damage and reactive oxygen species increase in human lens epithelial cells. Mol Vis 14:964-9. For more see “Research – laboratory – cancer studies” Schüz J and Ahlbom A. Exposure to electromagnetic
fields and the risk of childhood leukaemia: A review. Radiation
Protection Dosimetry Ahead of print Oct 16, 2008doi:10.1093/rpd/ncn270.
For more see “Research – exposure assessment”
For more see “Research – clinical – other - reproduction”
For more see “Research – epidemiological – cell phone studies”
For more see “Research – epidemiological – cell phone studies”
For more see “Research – epidemiological – cell phone studies”
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-H2AX
DNA repair foci in human lymphocytes (p n/a). Bioelectromagnetics Ahead
of print Oct 6 2008. DOI 10.1002/bem.20445.