Noviembre 2010

Information knowledge and not precautionary recommendations influenced the public's health concerns

The objective of the study was to examine how information and precautionary measures regarding mobile telecommunication technologies influence knowledge, health concerns, and behaviour in 408 Swiss residents. Participants’ perceptions were measured 3 times (before and after reading the booklet, and two weeks later) for 3 different versions of a new booklet and an existing one. Effect of knowledge, precautionary recommendations, and sender identity on health concerns and transfer of the proposed recommendations were assessed. The results indicate that reading the booklets increased participants' knowledge significantly. For mobile phones, health concerns increased after reading the booklets but the negativity of base stations health effects were lower. Identity of the sender and removal of precautionary recommendations had no significant effects on health concerns. It was concluded that confrontation with information in the booklet influenced the public's health concerns but not the precautionary recommendations.

Cousin ME, Siegrist M. Cell Phones and Health Concerns: Impact of Knowledge and Voluntary Precautionary Recommendations. Risk Anal. Sep 29, 2010. Ahead of print.

For more see “Research – epidemiological – cell phone studies”
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Study suggests that use of cell phones does not increase leukemia risk in adults

The objective of the case–control study in South East England was to investigate leukemia risk in relation to cell phone use in 806 cases of leukemia and 585 controls. All participants were interviewed about their cell phone usage and other relevant risk factors for leukemia. Results indicate that no association was found between regular mobile phone use and risk of leukemia (odds ratio (OR)=1.06, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.76, 1.46). Other analyses of risk in relation to variable of use did not indicate any significantly elevated risks and trends. But the authors found a non-significantly elevated risk in individuals who used a cell phone as far as 15 years ago (OR=1.87, 95% CI=0.96, 3.63). The authors concluded that their results indicate that usage of cell phone does not increase leukemia risk. But long-term use could still have an effect although it’s biologically unlikely however it needs to be further investigated.

Cooke R, Laing S, Swerdlow AJ. A case-control study of risk of leukaemia in relation to mobile phone use. Br J Cancer. Oct 12, 2010. Ahead of print.

For more see “Research – epidemiological – cell phone studies”
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Significant increased risk of acoustic neuroma found for average mobile phone use of more 20 minutes per day

The objective was to conduct a case–case study of mobile phone use and acoustic neuroma using a self-administered postal questionnaire in Japan. Subjects included 787 cases. The analyses included any associations between laterality of mobile phone use before 1 and 5 years before diagnosis and tumour location. The results indicate that overall risk ratio was 1.08 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.93–1.28) for regular mobile phone use (1 year before diagnosis) and 1.14 (95% CI, 0.96–1.40) for regular mobile phone use (5 years before diagnosis). The authors found a significantly increased risk for average mobile phone use of more than 20 min/day, risk ratios of 2.74 (1 year before diagnosis), and 3.08 (5 years before diagnosis). The authors concluded that the increased risk found for mobile phone users (>20 min/day) need to be interpreted with caution because of potential effect of detection and recall biases although it’s possible a real increased risk of acoustic neuroma is present.

Sato Y, Akiba S, Kubo O, Yamaguchi N. A case–case study of mobile phone use and acoustic neuroma risk in Japan. Bioelectromagnetics. Oct 28, 2010. Ahead of print.

For more see “Research – epidemiological – cell phone studies”
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Results of experiments study in 30 male subjects do not provide any evidence of a mobile phone-handset effect on human cognition

The objective of the study was to investigate the possible effects of long-term radiofrequency field (RF) exposure to GSM-900 and WCDMA mobile phone handset signals on attention and working memory. A total of 30 male subjects were tested randomly on 9 days to 3 different exposure conditions (sham, GSM 900 and WCDMA). Results indicate that comparisons showed significant changes when subjects were exposed to GSM 900 compared to sham-exposure but only in the vigilance test. Performance in the selective attention test and the n-back task was not affected by GSM 900 or WCDMA exposure. Time-of-day effects (morning or afternoon) were noticed on test for divided and selective attention and working memory. The authors concluded that their results do not show an RF effect on human cognition.

Sauter C, Dorn H, Bahr A, Hansen M-L, Peter A, Bajbouj M, Danker-Hopfe H. Effects of exposure to electromagnetic fields emitted by GSM 900 and WCDMA mobile phones on cognitive function in young male subjects. Bioelectromangetics. 28 OCT 2010. Ahead of print.

For more see “Research – clinical – cognitive function”
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Systematic review does not indicate an association between any health outcomes and radiofrequency exposure from base stations

The objective of the systematic review was to evaluate the newest literature on the health effects of exposure to mobile phone base station radiation. A total of 17 studies passed the established quality criteria and were included in the analyses. It includes 5 randomized human laboratory trials and 12 epidemiologicalstudies most of which examined self-reported non-specific symptoms. Results of the review indicate that most of the randomized trials did not find any association between base stations and the development of acute symptoms. Also, studies with better exposure assessment were less likely to find an effect. Few studies on health effects other than non-specific symptoms and also studies of children population are available. The authors concluded that their review does not indicate an association between any health outcomes and radiofrequency field exposure from base station at exposures seen in typical environments. But there is a gap in long-term data and for children and adolescents. The evidence of no effects in young people and in long-term use is incomplete.

Röösli M, Frei P, Mohler E & Hug K. Systematic review on the health effects of exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields from mobile phone base stations. Bulletin of the World Health Organization. October 5th, 2010. Ahead of print. BLT.09.071852

For more see “Research – epidemiological – cell phone studies” & “Bibliography – review papers - epidemiology”
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Jacobson, J. (2010). Do Cell Phones Cause Cancer? American Journal of Nursing 110(9):14-15.

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Methodology and procedure for temporal measurements and estimation methods for maximal and average exposure due to base station during longer periods are proposed

The objective of the study was to compare and model, using Erlang data (Erlang is a dimensionless unit of the average traffic intensity or occupancy during a period of time), temporal radiofrequency field (RF) exposure during 7 days at five different sites. The time periods of high exposure and high traffic during a day will be compared. Measurements with a spectrum analyzer and electric field strength probe were done at 5 different sites (residential, rural, office, urban, industrial) which varied for the type of environment, population density, and the mobile phone traffic. The temporal variations of FM, GSM, UMTS, and BCCH of GSM, TRX of GSM, and CPICH of UMTS signals during time were estimated. The results indicate that variations of 1.7 dB for FM and 7.5 dB for GSM and UMTS were estimated. It was concluded that a new method to calculate the fields at a time instant from fields at another time instant using normalized Erlang values gives the estimation of maximal and average exposure during a week from short-period measurements and avoids the necessity of long measurement times.

Joseph W, Verloock L. (2010). Influence of mobile phone traffic on base station exposure of the general public. Health Phys. 99(5):631-8.

For more see “Research – exposure assessment”
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Radiofrequency exposure and temperature changes associated with near authentic metallic implants in the head phantom

The objective of the study was to simulate and investigate whether authentic metallic implants in the head region could potentially cause temperature changes in radiofrequency near fields in instances where specific absorption rate (SAR) was much elevated. The authentic metallic implants were embedded in a heterogeneous head phantom. The temperature changes in tissues caused by SAR elevation near metallic implants were investigated in a skull plate, fixtures and a bone plate in near fields of 900, 1,800 and 2,450 MHz. The results indicate that increases in maximum temperatures of tissues, in some cases as much as 8 °C, were seen in the near field with 1 W power level. Lower power levels did not produce any significant temperature increases. The authors concluded that their results provide an estimate of the thermal effect of implants in comparable exposure setups but that the high number of implant-exposure geometries seen in real life cannot be investigated.

Matikka H, Keshvari J, Lappalainen R. (2010). Temperature changes associated with radiofrequency exposure near authentic metallic implants in the head phantom-a near field simulation study with 900, 1800 and 2450 MHz dipole. Phys Med Biol. 55(19):5867-81.

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SAR values obtained from Wi-Fi exposure were noticeably below the basic restriction guidelines and only 1% of mobile phone exposure

The objective of the study was to present specific absorption rate (SAR) calculations in a 10 year old rescaled version of the NORMAN (NORmalized MAN) voxel phantom at 2.4 and 5 GHz, which are the  frequencies commonly used by Wi-Fi devices. The calculations were done for exposure to plane waves, half-wave dipoles and antennas mounted on a laptop personal computer (PC). NORMAN is a male, anatomically correct voxel model made up of a three-dimensional array of about 2 mm cells. The results indicate that SAR values obtained were noticeably below the basic restriction guidelines. For a typical Wi-Fi exposure scenario, the maximum peak localized SAR was 3.99 mW kg-1 in the torso area. At the 2.4 GHz frequency, the highest localized SAR value in the head was 5.7 mW kg-1, which represents less than 1% of the SAR for a usual mobile phone scenario.

Findlay RP and Dimbylow PJ. (2010). SAR in a child voxel phantom from exposure to wireless computer networks (Wi-Fi). Phys. Med. Biol. 55(15):N405-N411.

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No adverse health effects of chronic exposure due to exposure to GSM-like signal

The paper studies the effect of chronic exposure to a low intensity GSM-like signal on health and survival of unrestrained female rats kept under identical conditions. No adverse health effects of chronic exposure were detectable, neither by macroscopic nor microscopic pathological examinations. Also, no apparent macroscopic pathological changes due to irradiation were found. But, the authors also noted that chronic exposure to a low-intensity GSM radiofrequency fields could have negative health effects and reduce survival if exposure is long-term and for whole life of the animals.

Bartsch H, Küpper H, Scheurlen U, Deerberg F, Seebald E, Dietz K, Mecke D, Probst H, Stehle T, Bartsch C. Effect of chronic exposure to a GSM-like signal (mobile phone) on survival of female Sprague-Dawley rats: Modulatory effects by month of birth and possibly stage of the solar cycle. Neuro Endocrinol Lett. Aug 30, 2010 Ahead of print.

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RF radiation at 40 kHz induces hepatic injury in rats

The objective of the study was to examine the potential health effects of radiofrequency (RF) radiation at 40 kHz on hepatic injury in Long-Evans Cinnamon (LEC) rats, an animal model for human Wilson disease, which is a heritable disease of copper metabolism in the liver. The results show that RF radiation at 40 kHz induced hepatic injury in LEC rats. The authors concluded that it could be necessary to establish a different safety level for individuals with abnormal metal metabolism such as human Wilson disease compared to the general public.

Sakai H, Horiguchi N, Endoh D, Nakayama K, Hayashi M. Radiofrequency Radiation at 40 kHz Induces Hepatic Injury in Long-Evans Cinnamon (LEC) Rats, an Animal Model for Human Wilson Disease. J Vet Med Sci. Oct 13, 2010. Ahead of print.

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Effects of electromagnetic radiation on early postnatal neurogenesis in rats

The objective was to study postnatal neurogenesis in the subventricular zone and rostral migratory stream of rats of both sexes. The data showed that short-term exposure induced increased c-Fos immunoreactivity in the cells of the subventricular zone of P7 and P28 rats. The authors concluded that expression of Fos protein and praecox maturation of NADPH-d positive cells in immature rats show that a single dose of electromagnetic radiation is a stressful event for proliferating cells.

Orendáčová J, Orendáč M, Mojžiš M, Labun J, Martončíková M, Saganová K, Lievajová K, Blaško J, Abdiová H, Gálik J, Račeková E. Effects of short-duration electromagnetic radiation on early postnatal neurogenesis in rats: Fos and NADPH-d histochemical studies. Acta Histochem. Oct 14, 2010. Ahead of print.

For more see “Research – laboratory – brain functions”
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Can mobile phone irradiation affect human primary endothelial cells?

The aim was to study whether exposure to 1800 MHz GSM mobile phone irradiation can affect cell proteome of two types of human primary endothelial cells. The data showed numerous differences between the proteomes of sham-exposed human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) and human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMEC). But the authors concluded that 1800 MHz GSM mobile phone radiation did not have any statistically significant effect on the proteome of HUVEC and HBMEC, when cells were exposed for duration of 60 minutes (average SAR of 2.0 W/kg) and verified for changes after being exposed.

Nylund R, Kuster N, Leszczynski D. Analysis of proteome response to the mobile phone radiation in two types of human primary endothelial cells. Proteome Sci. Oct 18, 2010;8(1):52. Ahead of print.

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Effect of WiFi signals on pregnancy outcome

The objective was to study the effects of prenatal (in utero) exposure to WiFi signals on pregnancy outcome and some immunological parameters. A total of 16 mated female mice were assigned to a cage control, sham-exposed and microwave-exposed at WiFi signals at 2.45 GHz, whole body, SAR 4 W/kg, 2 hours per day, 14 days after 5 days after mating. No health effects from exposure to WiFi signals during pregnancy on mating success, the number of newborns per dam, and body weight at birth were found in this study.

Sambucci M, Laudisi F, Nasta F, Pinto R, Lodato R, Altavista P, Lovisolo GA, Marino C, Pioli C. Prenatal Exposure to Non-ionizing Radiation: Effects of WiFi Signals on Pregnancy Outcome, Peripheral B-Cell Compartment and Antibody Production. Radiation Research. September 28, 2010. Ahead of print.

For more see “Research – laboratory – reproduction” & “Research – laboratory – immune system”
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Review of radiofrequency genetic effects

This paper reviews the data on alleged radiofrequency field-induced genetic effects from in vitro and in vivo investigations as well as from human cytogenetic biomonitoring surveys. No consistent picture emerges. Overall, the evidence for low-level genotoxic effects is very weak.

Verschaeve L, Juutilainen J, Lagroye I, Miyakoshi J, Saunders R, de Seze R, Tenforde T, van Rongen E, Veyret B, Xu Z. In vitro and in vivo genotoxicity of radiofrequency fields. Mutation Research-Reviews in Mutation Research. Oct 15, 2010. Ahead of print.

For more see “Research – laboratory – cancer studies”
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