Kojima M, Hata I, Wake K, Watanabe S-i, et al. (2004)

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of anesthesia in rabbits exposed to radiofrequency radiation (RFR).

One eye of the rabbits was exposed to RFR at 2.45 GHz for 60 -120 minutes (power density300 mW/cm²; SAR 108 W/kg). The other eye was unexposed. Two rabbits were exposed as a pair, one anesthetized and the other not. The anesthetic used was ketamine HCl 5mg/kg + xylazine 0.23mg/kg. A further control group of 3 pairs of sham exposed rabbits was used.

The exposed rabbit eyes showed miosis (contraction of the pupils), conjunctival congestion, and corneal edema. These changes disappeared within a week. An increase in the light scattering in the anterior shallow cortex of the exposed lens was seen at 1 day after exposure and was much more pronounced in the anesthetized animals. Similarly, anterior uveitis (inflammation of the iris) was much more pronounced in the anesthetized rabbits. The authors consider that these changes might be related to the fact that the temperatures within the eye of the anesthetized animals were 2-9 ° C higher than in the non-anesthetized.

The authors state that "the influence of systemic anesthesia on ocular changes should be considered".