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The authors' aim in this study was to evaluate the effect of exposure to RFR from a cell phone could affect sperm fertility. Sixteen Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 2 groups, and half were used as sham controls. The others were exposed to RFR from a cell phone for two sessions of 3 hours each for 18 weeks. The temperature of the rats was monitored to ensure that there were no differences between the 2 groups. At the end of the experiment the rats were killed, blood samples taken, and the testes and epididymes dissected out. Blind analysis of sperm motility and deformities was done. Sperm motility was significantly different between the exposed and sham groups. In the exposed group, a majority of the sperm cells were dead. In the morphological study sperm cells were often clumped together. A molecular study of the epididymes revealed an increase in messenger RNA for two surface adhesion proteins, CAD-1 and ICAM-1. The authors suggest that the increased sperm death could be related to the increase in the adhesion proteins, which normally serve to increase adhesion between sperm and egg.
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