Effects of electromagnetic radiation produced by 3G mobile phones on rat brains: magnetic resonance spectroscopy, biochemical, and histopathological evaluation

• Published in: Human & experimental toxicology Vol. 31; no. 6; p. 557
• Main Authors: Dogan, M, Turtay, M G, Oguzturk, H, Samdanci, E, Turkoz, Y, Tasdemir, S, Alkan, A, Bakir, S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 01-06-2012
• Subjects: Animals; Apoptosis - drug effects; Aspartic Acid - analogs & derivatives; Aspartic Acid - metabolism; Brain - anatomy & histology; Brain - metabolism; Brain - radiation effects; Catalase - metabolism; Cell Phone; Choline - metabolism; Creatinine - metabolism; Electromagnetic Radiation; Glutathione Peroxidase - metabolism; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Male; Neurons - cytology; Neurons - radiation effects; Rats; Rats, Wistar
• ISSN: 1477-0903
• DOI: 10.1177/0960327111412092

The effects of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) produced by a third-generation (3G) mobile phone (MP) on rat brain tissues were investigated in terms of magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), biochemistry, and histopathological evaluations.
The rats were randomly assigned to two groups: Group 1 is composed of 3G-EMR-exposed rats (n = 9) and Group 2 is the control group (n = 9). The first group was subjected to EMR for 20 days. The control group was not exposed to EMR. Choline (Cho), creatinin (Cr), and N-acetylaspartate (NAA) levels were evaluated by MRS. Catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) enzyme activities were measured by spectrophotometric method. Histopathological analyses were carried out to evaluate apoptosis in the brain tissues of both groups.
In MRS, NAA/Cr, Cho/Cr, and NAA/Cho ratios were not significantly different between Groups 1 and 2. Neither the oxidative stress parameters, CAT and GSH-Px, nor the number of apoptotic cells were significantly different between Groups 1 and 2.
Usage of short-term 3G MP does not seem to have a harmful effect on rat brain tissue.