RF Safe

Short-term effects of extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields exposure on Alzheimer's disease in rats.

International journal of radiation biology · 2015 · No effect · Low evidence

← Research stream
No effectLow evidencePaper 4673

Rats exposed to 100 μT/50 Hz ELF-EMF for 12 weeks showed no differences versus sham in body weight, Morris water maze measures of cognition/memory, Aβ levels in cortex/hippocampus/plasma, or neuronal histology.

Study snapshot

PublicationInternational journal of radiation biology · 2015
Study typeanimal
Reported directionNo effect
Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

PURPOSE: With the development and widespread use of electromagnetic field (EMF) technology, recent studies are focusing on the effects of EMF on human health. Recently, extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMF) have been studied with great interest due to their possible effects on Alzheimer's disease (AD). The objective of the present study was to investigate the interaction between ELF-EMF exposure and memory impairment in rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty healthy male Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into two groups (n = 10). Animals were exposed to 100 μT/50 Hz ELF-EMF or subjected to sham exposure when 12 weeks old. After 12 weeks, the Morris water maze (MWM) was used to test the changes in cognitive and memory ability. Amyloid-beta (Aβ) content in cortex, hippocampus and plasma were measured by ELISA assays. The morphology of neuron was detected by H&E staining. RESULTS: After exposure, the body weight of rats showed no difference compared with the control group. The application of ELF-EMF did not induce any cognitive and memory impairment compared with the sham-exposure group. The determination of Aβ showed no significant change between the two groups, and there was no histological change in ELF-EMF exposure group. CONCLUSION: The present study indicated that short-term exposure of 100 μT/50 Hz ELF-EMF had no effects on cognition and memory of rats, and did not alter the expression of Aβ and the neuron morphology. However, more comprehensive studies are still required to elucidate the possible effects and underlying mechanisms of ELF-EMF exposure on living organisms.

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 directionno_effect
PopulationMale Sprague Dawley rats (healthy)
Sample size20
ExposureELF · 0.05 MHz · 12 weeks
Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 86% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Rats exposed to 100 μT/50 Hz ELF-EMF for 12 weeks showed no differences versus sham in body weight, Morris water maze measures of cognition/memory, Aβ levels in cortex/hippocampus/plasma, or neuronal histology.

Outcomes measured

  • Cognition and memory performance (Morris water maze)
  • Amyloid-beta (Aβ) levels in cortex, hippocampus, and plasma (ELISA)
  • Neuron morphology (H&E staining)
  • Body weight

Limitations

  • Animal study; findings may not generalize to humans
  • Only one exposure condition reported (100 μT, 50 Hz)
  • Short-term exposure only (12 weeks)
View raw extracted JSON
{
  "study_type": "animal",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "ELF",
    "source": null,
    "frequency_mhz": 0.05,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "12 weeks"
  },
  "population": "Male Sprague Dawley rats (healthy)",
  "sample_size": 20,
  "outcomes": [
    "Cognition and memory performance (Morris water maze)",
    "Amyloid-beta (Aβ) levels in cortex, hippocampus, and plasma (ELISA)",
    "Neuron morphology (H&E staining)",
    "Body weight"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Rats exposed to 100 μT/50 Hz ELF-EMF for 12 weeks showed no differences versus sham in body weight, Morris water maze measures of cognition/memory, Aβ levels in cortex/hippocampus/plasma, or neuronal histology.",
  "effect_direction": "no_effect",
  "limitations": [
    "Animal study; findings may not generalize to humans",
    "Only one exposure condition reported (100 μT, 50 Hz)",
    "Short-term exposure only (12 weeks)"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.86,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "extremely low frequency",
    "ELF-EMF",
    "50 Hz",
    "100 μT",
    "Alzheimer's disease",
    "memory impairment",
    "Morris water maze",
    "amyloid-beta",
    "ELISA",
    "Sprague Dawley rat",
    "histology"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": []
}
AI can be wrong. Always verify against the paper.

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: 10.3109/09553002.2014.954058
PubMed: 25118893

Read the original paper →

Related papers

← Back to the Research Library