ELF EMF exposure and restraint stress induce changes on the brain lipid profile of Wistar rats

2018 · Harm · Low evidence

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HarmLow evidencePaper 2108

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2018

Study typeanimal

Reported directionHarm

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

ELF EMF exposure and restraint stress induce changes on the brain lipid profile of Wistar rats Martínez-Sámano J, Flores-Poblano A, Verdugo-Díaz L, Juárez-Oropeza MA, Torres-Durán PV. Extremely low frequency electromagnetic field exposure and restraint stress induce changes on the brain lipid profile of Wistar rats. BMC Neurosci. 2018 May 21; 19(1):31. doi: 10.1186/s12868-018-0432-1. Abstract BACKGROUND: Exposure to electromagnetic fields can affect human health, damaging tissues and cell homeostasis. Stress modulates neuronal responses and composition of brain lipids. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of chronic extremely low frequency electromagnetic field (ELF-EMF) exposure, restraint stress (RS) or both (RS + ELF-EMF) on lipid profile and lipid peroxidation in Wistar rat brain. METHODS: Twenty-four young male Wistar rats were allocated into four groups: control, RS, ELF-EMF exposure, and RS + ELF-EMF for 21 days. After treatment, rats were euthanized, the blood was obtained for quantitate plasma corticosterone concentration and their brains were dissected in cortex, cerebellum and subcortical structures for cholesterol, triacylglycerols, total free fatty acids, and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) analysis. In addition, fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) were identified by gas chromatography. RESULTS: Increased values of plasma corticosterone were found in RS and ELF-EMF exposed groups (p < 0.05), this effect was higher in RS + ELF-EMF group (p < 0.05, vs. control group). Chronic ELF-EMF exposure increased total lipids in cerebellum, and total cholesterol in cortex, but decreased polar lipids in cortex. In subcortical structures, increased concentrations of non-esterified fatty acids were observed in RS + ELF-EMF group. FAMEs analysis revealed a decrease of polyunsaturated fatty acids of cerebellum and increases of subcortical structures in the ELF-EMF exposed rats. TBARS concentration in lipids was increased in all treated groups compared to control group, particularly in cortex and cerebellum regions. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that chronic exposure to ELF-EMF is similar to physiological stress, and induce changes on brain lipid profile. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Machine Enhanced Logic

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

PopulationYoung male Wistar rats

Sample size24

ExposureELF · 21 days (chronic exposure)

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 78% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Compared with controls, plasma corticosterone increased in restraint stress (RS) and ELF-EMF groups, with a higher increase in the combined RS + ELF-EMF group. ELF-EMF exposure was associated with changes in brain lipid measures (e.g., increased total lipids in cerebellum, increased total cholesterol and decreased polar lipids in cortex) and increased TBARS in treated groups, particularly in cortex and cerebellum.

Outcomes measured

Brain lipid profile (cholesterol, triacylglycerols, total free fatty acids, polar lipids, total lipids)
Lipid peroxidation (TBARS) in brain regions
Fatty acid composition (FAMEs by gas chromatography)
Plasma corticosterone

Limitations

ELF-EMF exposure parameters (e.g., frequency, field strength) not reported in the abstract
Animal study (young male Wistar rats), limiting direct generalizability to humans
Small sample size (n=24)

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "animal",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "ELF",
    "source": null,
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "21 days (chronic exposure)"
  },
  "population": "Young male Wistar rats",
  "sample_size": 24,
  "outcomes": [
    "Brain lipid profile (cholesterol, triacylglycerols, total free fatty acids, polar lipids, total lipids)",
    "Lipid peroxidation (TBARS) in brain regions",
    "Fatty acid composition (FAMEs by gas chromatography)",
    "Plasma corticosterone"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Compared with controls, plasma corticosterone increased in restraint stress (RS) and ELF-EMF groups, with a higher increase in the combined RS + ELF-EMF group. ELF-EMF exposure was associated with changes in brain lipid measures (e.g., increased total lipids in cerebellum, increased total cholesterol and decreased polar lipids in cortex) and increased TBARS in treated groups, particularly in cortex and cerebellum.",
  "effect_direction": "harm",
  "limitations": [
    "ELF-EMF exposure parameters (e.g., frequency, field strength) not reported in the abstract",
    "Animal study (young male Wistar rats), limiting direct generalizability to humans",
    "Small sample size (n=24)"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.78,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "extremely low frequency",
    "ELF-EMF",
    "restraint stress",
    "Wistar rats",
    "brain",
    "lipid profile",
    "cholesterol",
    "fatty acids",
    "FAMEs",
    "TBARS",
    "lipid peroxidation",
    "corticosterone"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "occupational-exposure",
      "weight": 0.2,
      "reason": "ELF-EMF exposure studied, but no specific source context provided; hub only weakly applicable."
    }
  ]
}

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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: 10.1186/s12868-018-0432-1
PubMed: Not supplied

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