Morphological and antioxidant impairments in the spinal cord of male offspring rats following exposure to a continuous 900MHz electromagnetic field during early and mid-adolescence.

Journal of chemical neuroanatomy · 2016 · Harm · Low evidence

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HarmLow evidencePaper 4719

Compared with control and sham groups, the EMF-exposed group showed significantly increased malondialdehyde and glutathione levels. Light and electron microscopy in the EMF-exposed group indicated spinal cord atrophy, vacuolization, myelin thickening/irregula…

Study snapshot

PublicationJournal of chemical neuroanatomy · 2016

Study typeanimal

Reported directionHarm

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

The effects of devices emitting electromagnetic field (EMF) on human health have become the subject of intense research among scientists due to the rapid increase in their use. Children and adolescents are particularly attracted to the use of devices emitting EMF, such as mobile phones. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate changes in the spinal cords of male rat pups exposed to the effect of 900MHz EMF. The study began with 24 Sprague-Dawley male rats aged 3 weeks. Three groups containing equal numbers of rats were established-control group (CG), sham group (SG) and EMF group (EMFG). EMFG rats were placed inside an EMF cage every day between postnatal days (PD) 21 and 46 and exposed to the effect of 900MHz EMF for 1h. SG rats were kept in the EMF cage for 1h without being exposed to the effect of EMF. At the end of the study, the spinal cords in the upper thoracic region of all rats were removed. Tissues were collected for biochemistry, light microscopy (LM) and transmission electron microscopic (TEM) examination. Biochemistry results revealed significantly increased malondialdehyde and glutathione levels in EMFG compared to CG and SG, while SG and EMFG catalase and superoxide dismutase levels were significantly higher than those in CG. In EMFG, LM revealed atrophy in the spinal cord, vacuolization, myelin thickening and irregularities in the perikarya. TEM revealed marked loss of myelin sheath integrity and invagination into the axon and broad vacuoles in axoplasm. The study results show that biochemical alterations and pathological changes may occur in the spinal cords of male rats following exposure to 900MHz EMF for 1h a day on PD 21-46.

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

PopulationSprague-Dawley male rats (started at age 3 weeks); spinal cord assessed in upper thoracic region

Sample size24

ExposureRF · 900 MHz · 1 h/day between postnatal days 21–46

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 78% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Outcomes measured

Spinal cord morphology (light microscopy)
Spinal cord ultrastructure (transmission electron microscopy)
Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels
Glutathione levels
Catalase levels
Superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels

Limitations

No specific absorption rate (SAR) or dosimetry details reported in the abstract
Only male rats studied
Exposure duration limited to 1 h/day and a specific developmental window (PD 21–46)
Outcomes limited to biochemical markers and histopathology in the spinal cord (no functional/behavioral outcomes described in abstract)

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "animal",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": "other",
    "frequency_mhz": 900,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "1 h/day between postnatal days 21–46"
  },
  "population": "Sprague-Dawley male rats (started at age 3 weeks); spinal cord assessed in upper thoracic region",
  "sample_size": 24,
  "outcomes": [
    "Spinal cord morphology (light microscopy)",
    "Spinal cord ultrastructure (transmission electron microscopy)",
    "Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels",
    "Glutathione levels",
    "Catalase levels",
    "Superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Compared with control and sham groups, the EMF-exposed group showed significantly increased malondialdehyde and glutathione levels. Light and electron microscopy in the EMF-exposed group indicated spinal cord atrophy, vacuolization, myelin thickening/irregularities, and loss of myelin sheath integrity with axonal invagination and vacuoles in axoplasm.",
  "effect_direction": "harm",
  "limitations": [
    "No specific absorption rate (SAR) or dosimetry details reported in the abstract",
    "Only male rats studied",
    "Exposure duration limited to 1 h/day and a specific developmental window (PD 21–46)",
    "Outcomes limited to biochemical markers and histopathology in the spinal cord (no functional/behavioral outcomes described in abstract)"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.78,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "900 MHz",
    "radiofrequency",
    "EMF exposure",
    "adolescence",
    "postnatal days 21–46",
    "spinal cord",
    "oxidative stress",
    "malondialdehyde",
    "glutathione",
    "catalase",
    "superoxide dismutase",
    "myelin",
    "ultrastructure",
    "rat"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "rf-mobile-phones",
      "weight": 0.7,
      "reason": "Study frames exposure as relevant to devices such as mobile phones and uses 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.2015.11.006
PubMed: 26708410

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