Cell phones and the brain

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

Normally, DNA is capable of efficiently repairing itself. Through a homeostatic mechanism, cells maintain a delicate balance between spontaneous and induced DNA damage. By causing an increase in free radicals, however, EMFs may alter this balance.

Cell Division Errors and Aging

A study published in the March 31, 2000 edition of Science indicates that the source of many, if not all illnesses of aging, may be due to gradual genetic changes. Lead researcher Danith Ly, PhD, theorized that genes go awry because they are damaged by free radicals.

"This study suggests that aging is really a disease of quality control. In this case the manufactured product is a new cell," says co-author Richard A. Lerner, MD, president of The Scripps Research Institute. While the research is not conclusive, Lerner says the process begins slowly in middle age and gradually accelerates as we get older. In tissues throughout the body, an increase in cell division errors leads to altered gene expression which causes the loss of tissue function -- culminating in the diseases and conditions associated with human aging. (12)

In 1999, Swedish researchers exposed mice to EMFs generated by actual outdoor electric transmission power lines (220 kV). After 32 days of exposure, a highly significant change was observed in the animals' brain cells. The researchers said their "data indicate that transmission lines of this type may induce genotoxic effects in mice, seen as changes in the DNA migration." (13)

Heat Shock

The Scripps study also revealed links to specific age-related disorders. In Alzheimer's disease, there was evidence for the overexpression of a small protein associated with heat shock. Other studies have confirmed the presence of alpha Bcrystallin and other heat shock proteins in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's as well as in those with Parkinson's disease. Furthermore, the myclinproducing cells (oligodendrocytes) were among those most affected. (14-17)

Swedish researchers at the University of Goteborg have shown an association between Alzheimer's disease and altered lipid composition in myelin, indicating that demyelination is a primary event in late-onset form Alzheimer's disease. (18, 19)

In a significant new study titled "Cell biology: Non-thermal heat-shock response to microwaves," worms were continuously exposed to microwave radiation of the sort emitted by cell phones. The researchers showed that "prolonged exposure to low-intensity microwave fields can induce heat-shock responses in the soil nematode Caenouhabditis elegans. This effect appears to be non-thermal, suggesting that current exposure limits set for microwave equipment may need to be reconsidered." (20)

Keeping brain cells from overheating is one of the bloodstream's functions. Blood not only delivers oxygen, glucose, and nutrients, and removes toxins; it also cools the brain. An efficient cerebral vascular system enabled the evolution of intelligence, and healthy blood vessels continue to be necessary for proper cognitive function -- and for protection against neurodegenerative diseases -- especially since both "epidemiologic and pathologic observations suggest that vascular factors may contribute to the development of Alzheimer's disease." (21)