Lipoic acid inhibits cognitive impairment induced by multiple cell phones in young male rats: role of Sirt1 and Atg7 pathway.

Scientific reports · 2023 · Mixed · Low evidence

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MixedLow evidencePaper 5766

Study snapshot

PublicationScientific reports · 2023

Study typeanimal

Reported directionMixed

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

The utilization of digital technology has grown rapidly in the past three decades. With this rapid increase, cell phones emit electromagnetic radiation; that is why electromagnetic field (EMF) has become a substantial new pollution source in modern civilization, mainly having adverse effects on the brain. While such a topic attracted many researchers' scopes, there are still minimal discoveries made regarding chronic exposure to EMF. The extensive use of cell phones may affect children's cognition even indirectly if parents and guardians used their phones repeatedly near them. This study aims to investigate possible lipoic acid (LA) effects on cognitive functions and hippocampal structure in young male rats exposed to electromagnetic fields (EMF) emitted from multiple cell phones. Forty young male Wistar rats were randomly allocated into three groups: control, multiple cell phones-exposed and lipoic acid-treated rats. By the end of the experimental period, the Morris water maze was used as a cognitive test. The rats were sacrificed for the collection of serum and hippocampal tissue. These serum samples were then utilized for assessment of Liver function tests. The level ofglutamate, acetylcholine (Ach) and malondialdehyde (MDA) was estimated, in addition to evaluating the expression of autophagy-related protein-7 (Atg7) and Sirt1 genes. The left hippocampal specimens were used for histopathological studies. Results showed that multiple cell phone-exposed rats exhibited shorter latency time to reach the platform by the fifth day of training; additionally, there was a reduction in consolidation of spatial long-term memory. Correspondingly, there was an elevation of hippocampal Ach, glutamate, and MDA levels; accompanied by up-regulation of hippocampal Sirt1 and Atg7 gene expression. Compared to the EMF-exposed group, LA administration improved both learning and memory, this was proved by the significant decline in hippocampal MDA and Ach levels, the higher hippocampal glutamate, the downregulated hippocampal Sirt1 gene expression and the upregulated Atg7 gene expression. In conclusion, EMF exposure could enhance learning ability; however, it interfered with long-term memory consolidation shown by higher hippocampal Ach levels. Lipoic acid treatment improved both learning and memory by enhancing autophagy and hippocampal glutamate level and by the reduced Ach levels and Sirt1 gene expression.

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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 directionmixed

PopulationYoung male Wistar rats

Sample size40

ExposureRF

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Rats exposed to EMF from multiple cell phones showed shorter latency to reach the platform by day 5 (suggesting enhanced learning) but reduced consolidation of spatial long-term memory. EMF exposure was associated with increased hippocampal Ach, glutamate, and MDA and up-regulated hippocampal Sirt1 and Atg7 gene expression. Compared with EMF-exposed rats, lipoic acid treatment improved learning and memory and altered hippocampal biomarkers (including reduced MDA and Ach, higher glutamate, downregulated Sirt1, and upregulated Atg7).

Outcomes measured

Cognitive performance (Morris water maze learning and long-term memory consolidation)
Hippocampal histopathology/structure
Hippocampal acetylcholine (Ach)
Hippocampal glutamate
Hippocampal malondialdehyde (MDA)
Hippocampal Sirt1 gene expression
Hippocampal Atg7 gene expression
Serum liver function tests

Limitations

Exposure parameters (e.g., frequency, SAR, and exposure duration) not reported in the abstract
Animal study (young male rats), limiting direct generalizability to humans
Group descriptions are unclear (three groups listed, but lipoic acid appears to be compared to EMF-exposed group; whether LA was given with concurrent EMF exposure is not explicitly stated)

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "animal",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": "mobile phone",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": null
  },
  "population": "Young male Wistar rats",
  "sample_size": 40,
  "outcomes": [
    "Cognitive performance (Morris water maze learning and long-term memory consolidation)",
    "Hippocampal histopathology/structure",
    "Hippocampal acetylcholine (Ach)",
    "Hippocampal glutamate",
    "Hippocampal malondialdehyde (MDA)",
    "Hippocampal Sirt1 gene expression",
    "Hippocampal Atg7 gene expression",
    "Serum liver function tests"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Rats exposed to EMF from multiple cell phones showed shorter latency to reach the platform by day 5 (suggesting enhanced learning) but reduced consolidation of spatial long-term memory. EMF exposure was associated with increased hippocampal Ach, glutamate, and MDA and up-regulated hippocampal Sirt1 and Atg7 gene expression. Compared with EMF-exposed rats, lipoic acid treatment improved learning and memory and altered hippocampal biomarkers (including reduced MDA and Ach, higher glutamate, downregulated Sirt1, and upregulated Atg7).",
  "effect_direction": "mixed",
  "limitations": [
    "Exposure parameters (e.g., frequency, SAR, and exposure duration) not reported in the abstract",
    "Animal study (young male rats), limiting direct generalizability to humans",
    "Group descriptions are unclear (three groups listed, but lipoic acid appears to be compared to EMF-exposed group; whether LA was given with concurrent EMF exposure is not explicitly stated)"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "electromagnetic field",
    "mobile phones",
    "rats",
    "cognition",
    "Morris water maze",
    "hippocampus",
    "lipoic acid",
    "oxidative stress",
    "malondialdehyde",
    "acetylcholine",
    "glutamate",
    "Sirt1",
    "Atg7",
    "autophagy"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": []
}

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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: 10.1038/s41598-023-44134-2
PubMed: 37898621

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