Investigation of the neuroprotective effects of thymoquinone on rat spinal cord exposed to 900 MHz electromagnetic field

2019 · Harm · Low evidence

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HarmLow evidencePaper 1670

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2019

Study typeanimal

Reported directionHarm

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Investigation of the neuroprotective effects of thymoquinone on rat spinal cord exposed to 900 MHz electromagnetic field Yahyazadeh A, Altunkaynak BZ. Investigation of the neuroprotective effects of thymoquinone on rat spinal cord exposed to 900 MHz electromagnetic field. J Chem Neuroanat. 2019 Oct;100:101657. doi: 10.1016/j.jchemneu.2019.101657. Abstract Exposure to electromagnetic field in long-term use of cell phones has increased concerns about serious health problems. Our aim was to survey the possible effects of electromagnetic field radiation (60 min/day for 28 days) on the spinal cords of 12 weeks old rats. Further, we investigated whether the administration of thymoquinone (10 mg/kg/day) would protect the spinal cord tissue against the adverse effects of electromagnetic field or not. Twenty-four adult male Wistar albino rats were assigned randomly into four groups: control, electromagnetic field, thymoquinone and electromagnetic field + thymoquinone. The cervical spinal cords of all rats was evaluated using the stereological, biochemical and histological methods. The number of motor neurons were reduced in the electromagnetic field group compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Superoxide dismutase level was higher in the electromagnetic field group compared to the control group (p < 0.05). In the electromagnetic field + thymoquinone group, we found an increase in the number of motor neurons and decrease in superoxide dismutase activity compared to the electromagnetic field group (p < 0.05). Our histological findings also exhibit the remarkable architectural alterations. We speculated that electromagnetic field radiation induced the morphological and biochemical damage to the spinal cord tissue of rats. Administration of antioxidant, thymoquinone, also ameliorated such complications caused by electromagnetic field. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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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 typeanimal

Effect directionharm

Population12-week-old adult male Wistar albino rats

Sample size24

ExposureRF · 900 MHz · 60 min/day for 28 days

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 78% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Compared with controls, the electromagnetic field group had reduced motor neuron numbers and higher superoxide dismutase levels (p<0.05). Compared with the electromagnetic field group, the electromagnetic field + thymoquinone group showed increased motor neuron numbers and decreased superoxide dismutase activity (p<0.05), with histological architectural alterations reported.

Outcomes measured

Motor neuron number (cervical spinal cord)
Superoxide dismutase (SOD) level/activity
Histological/architectural alterations in spinal cord tissue

Limitations

SAR or exposure intensity not reported in the abstract
Only male rats studied
Short exposure duration (28 days) and single frequency (900 MHz)

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "animal",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": "mobile phone",
    "frequency_mhz": 900,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "60 min/day for 28 days"
  },
  "population": "12-week-old adult male Wistar albino rats",
  "sample_size": 24,
  "outcomes": [
    "Motor neuron number (cervical spinal cord)",
    "Superoxide dismutase (SOD) level/activity",
    "Histological/architectural alterations in spinal cord tissue"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Compared with controls, the electromagnetic field group had reduced motor neuron numbers and higher superoxide dismutase levels (p<0.05). Compared with the electromagnetic field group, the electromagnetic field + thymoquinone group showed increased motor neuron numbers and decreased superoxide dismutase activity (p<0.05), with histological architectural alterations reported.",
  "effect_direction": "harm",
  "limitations": [
    "SAR or exposure intensity not reported in the abstract",
    "Only male rats studied",
    "Short exposure duration (28 days) and single frequency (900 MHz)"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.78,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "900 MHz",
    "radiofrequency",
    "electromagnetic field",
    "cell phone",
    "spinal cord",
    "motor neurons",
    "superoxide dismutase",
    "oxidative stress",
    "thymoquinone",
    "neuroprotection",
    "rat"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "mobile-phones",
      "weight": 0.9,
      "reason": "Exposure described as related to long-term cell phone use; 900 MHz RF-EMF."
    }
  ]
}

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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: 10.1016/j.jchemneu.2019.101657
PubMed: Not supplied

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