A review on combined biological effects of microwave and other physical or chemical agents

2018 · Mixed · Insufficient evidence

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MixedInsufficient evidencePaper 1554

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2018

Study typereview

Reported directionMixed

Evidence ratingInsufficient

Abstract

A review on combined biological effects of microwave and other physical or chemical agents Tan S, Tan H, Wang R, Peng R. A review on combined biological effects of microwave and other physical or chemical agents, Int. J. Radiat. Res. 2018; 16 (2): 139-153. Abstract With the development of science and technology, microwave has been used in many fields such as industry, military, medicine and communication. People are living in a lapped and dynamic electromagnetic environment. Concerns about potential hazards of microwave are getting increasing attention. The single biological effects of microwave were widely discussed which was considered harmful. Relevant safety standards had been formulated and applied. However, the real environment was more complex. Microwave was not the only factor that organisms might be affected. Other physical or chemical factors, such as ionizing radiation [IR] , ultraviolet [UV] , magnetic field and chemical drugs, often existed with the microwave radiation. Even the microwave itself could create combined exposure situation, because the environment consisted different frequency microwaves. Nuclear weapons and high-power radar could produce microwave and ionizing radiation. The ultraviolet ray and magnetic field generated by the instrument's operation could act on the human bodies along with the microwaves. The combination of radiofrequency therapy and chemotherapeutic agents was also commonly used in cancer therapy. Therefore, the combined biological effects of microwaves and other physical or chemical factors were very important. This review had covered the original articles in this aspect. In order to better understand the combined biological effects the comparative studies of different frequency microwaves were also included. Differences in biological effects were found among different frequency microwaves, and the combined biological effects contained both hazards and benefits. Findings in combined biological effects were very practical for rational uses of microwave technologies. Excerpt In summary, the studies of combined biological effects of microwave and multiple factors were focused on several aspects, such as multiple frequencies microwave, microwave and IR, microwave and magnetic ield, microwave and UV, microwave and drugs. By now, most studies had con irmed the existence of combined biological effects, but failed to draw firm and unanimous conclusions. There were still many unsolved problems: 1. The experimental conditions in different papers were different, which made the results to be incomparable; 2. The research remained in exploration of existence of combined effects, there were blanks in dose-effect relationship research as well as mechanism research; 3. Many signaling pathways and molecules had been confirmed to participate in the injury process, but no sensitive biological indicators were found; 4. The diagnosis and protective measures for combined effects was incomplete. In short, lots of beneficial explorations had been performed for combined biological effects of MW and multi- factors, but lots of effort still should be made in this field. Open access paper: ijrr.com

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AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typereview

Effect directionmixed

PopulationNot supplied

Sample sizeNot supplied

Exposuremicrowave

Evidence strengthInsufficientConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: unknown

Main findings

This review summarizes original articles on combined biological effects of microwaves with other physical or chemical factors (including multiple microwave frequencies, ionizing radiation, ultraviolet, magnetic fields, and drugs). It reports that many studies confirm the existence of combined effects, but firm and unanimous conclusions are lacking; combined effects described include both hazards and benefits.

Outcomes measured

Combined biological effects of microwave exposure with other agents (ionizing radiation, ultraviolet, magnetic field, chemical drugs)
Differences in biological effects across different microwave frequencies
Potential hazards and benefits of combined exposures

Limitations

Experimental conditions differed across papers, making results difficult to compare
Research focused mainly on existence of combined effects; gaps remain in dose-effect relationship research and mechanism research
No sensitive biological indicators identified despite involvement of many signaling pathways/molecules
Diagnosis and protective measures for combined effects described as incomplete

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "review",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "microwave",
    "source": null,
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": null
  },
  "population": null,
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "Combined biological effects of microwave exposure with other agents (ionizing radiation, ultraviolet, magnetic field, chemical drugs)",
    "Differences in biological effects across different microwave frequencies",
    "Potential hazards and benefits of combined exposures"
  ],
  "main_findings": "This review summarizes original articles on combined biological effects of microwaves with other physical or chemical factors (including multiple microwave frequencies, ionizing radiation, ultraviolet, magnetic fields, and drugs). It reports that many studies confirm the existence of combined effects, but firm and unanimous conclusions are lacking; combined effects described include both hazards and benefits.",
  "effect_direction": "mixed",
  "limitations": [
    "Experimental conditions differed across papers, making results difficult to compare",
    "Research focused mainly on existence of combined effects; gaps remain in dose-effect relationship research and mechanism research",
    "No sensitive biological indicators identified despite involvement of many signaling pathways/molecules",
    "Diagnosis and protective measures for combined effects described as incomplete"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "insufficient",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "unknown",
  "keywords": [
    "microwave",
    "radiofrequency",
    "combined exposure",
    "ionizing radiation",
    "ultraviolet",
    "magnetic field",
    "chemotherapeutic agents",
    "multiple frequencies",
    "hazards",
    "benefits"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "occupational-exposure",
      "weight": 0.28,
      "reason": "Mentions industry/military contexts (e.g., high-power radar, nuclear weapons) where combined exposures may occur."
    }
  ]
}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: Not supplied
PubMed: Not supplied

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