Cell phones and the brain

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, July, 2002 by John D. MacArthur

Dr. Lai cautions against applying the existing research results to evaluate the possible health effects of normal cell phone usage. While "it is difficult to deny that radiofrequency at low intensity can affect the nervous system," he says the data available suggest a complex reaction. Other parameters of exposure, "such as frequency, duration, waveform, frequency- and amplitude-modulation, etc., are important determinants of biological responses." More research is needed, but since not much is known on the biological effects of cell phones, "prudent usage should be taken as a logical guideline." (6)

Melatonin Matters

The chemical neurotransmitter dopamine is uniquely vulnerable to free radical damage. Many researchers believe that some diseases of aging -- most notably, Parkinson's disease -- are associated with the loss of dopamine-using neurons. Lorraine Iacovitti, PhD, showed in animal experiments that melatonin was effective in blocking the oxidative damage to these brain cells. Her results indicate "melatonin possesses the remarkable ability to rescue dopamine neurons from cell death in several experimental paradigms associated with oxidative stress." (7)

Past research has demonstrated a correlation between EMFs and decreased levels of melatonin in the body, but results have been inconsistent. Numerous factors are involved, including one's natural melatonin levels and the length of exposure. A recent study suggests there may be a "cumulative effect of magnetic field exposure on the stability of individual melatonin measurements over time." (8)

EMFs are characterized by many variables, such as the orientation of the magnetic field and its polarity. In a study of electric utility workers, Dr. Jim Burch of Colorado State University has shown that certain EMF environments have a greater effect on melatonin levels. The key difference may be the polarization of the magnetic field. (9) Burch's preliminary results agree with a series of animal studies by Dr. Masamichi Kato at Hokkaido University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan. (10)

DNA Conducts Electricity

Swiss scientists at the University of Basel reported in March 1999 that DNA conducts electricity as well as a good semiconductor. A few months later, a research team from the Georgia Institute of Technology actually observed the complicated process by which an electrical charge moves through DNA.

"It's not at all like a conductor or a wire," said lead author Dr. Gary B. Schuster. He compared the charge transport mechanism to the movement of a Slinky, the large spring used as a toy. When an electrical charge is injected into DNA, the DNA responds by changing its structure to accommodate and distribute the charge over several of its structural base pairs. This creates a local distortion that, just like the compression in a Slinky, can move in the DNA.

The charge transfer stops when it encounters a specific pairing of two chemical bases (guanine), where it then oxidizes the guanine and causes strand breaks that can lead to genetic mutations. (11)