Alzheimer's, Dementia & Mental Health
Cell Phone Use May Protect You Against and Even
Reverse Alzheimer's Disease
Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Center study in
mice indicates long-term exposure to cell phone signals may even boost
normal memory
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Mice were
exposed to cell phone signals from a centrally-located antenna.
Photo courtesy of University of South Florida |
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Jan. 7, 2010 - The millions of people who spend
hours every day on a cell phone may have a new excuse for yakking. A
surprising new study in mice provides the first evidence that long-term
exposure to electromagnetic waves associated with cell phone use may
actually protect against, and even reverse, Alzheimer's disease.
The study, led by University of South Florida
researchers at the Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC),
was published today in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.
"It surprised us to find that cell phone exposure,
begun in early adulthood, protects the memory of mice otherwise destined
to develop Alzheimer's symptoms," said lead author Gary Arendash, PhD,
USF Research Professor at the Florida ADRC.
"It was even more astonishing that the
electromagnetic waves generated by cell phones actually reversed memory
impairment in old Alzheimer's mice."
The researchers showed that exposing old
Alzheimer's mice to electromagnetic waves generated by cell phones
erased brain deposits of the harmful protein beta-amyloid, in addition
to preventing the protein's build-up in younger Alzheimer's mice. The
sticky brain plaques formed by the abnormal accumulation of beta amyloid
are a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. Most treatments against
Alzheimer's try to target beta-amyloid.
The highly-controlled study allowed researchers to
isolate the effects of cell phone exposure on memory from other
lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise. It involved 96 mice, most
of which were genetically altered to develop beta-amyloid plaques and
memory problems mimicking Alzheimer's disease as they aged. Some mice
were non-demented, without any genetic predisposition for Alzheimer's,
so researchers could test the effects of electromagnetic waves on normal
memory as well.
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Gary
Arendash, PhD, a University of South Florida research professor,
was the study's lead author. |
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Both the Alzheimer's and normal mice were exposed
to the electromagnetic field generated by standard cell phone use for
two 1-hour periods each day for seven to nine months.
The mice didn't wear tiny headsets or have
scientists holding cell phones up to their ears; instead, their cages
were arranged around a centrally-located antenna generating the cell
phone signal.
Each animal was housed the same distance from the
antenna and exposed to electromagnetic waves typically emitted by a cell
phone pressed up against a human head.
If cell phone exposure was started when the
genetically-programmed mice were young adults -- before signs of memory
impairment were apparent -- their cognitive ability was protected.
In fact, the Alzheimer's mice performed as well on
tests measuring memory and thinking skills as aged mice without
dementia. If older Alzheimer's mice already exhibiting memory problems
were exposed to the electromagnetic waves, their memory impairment
disappeared.
Months of cell phone exposure even boosted the
memories of normal mice to above-normal levels. The memory benefits of
cell phone exposure took months to show up, suggesting that a similar
effect in humans would take years if cell phone-level electromagnetic
exposure was provided.
Based on their promising and unexpected findings in
mice, the researchers concluded that electromagnetic field exposure
could be an effective, non-invasive and drug-free way to prevent and
treat Alzheimer's disease in humans. They are currently evaluating
whether different sets of electromagnetic frequencies and strengths will
produce more rapid and even greater cognitive benefits than those found
in their current study.
"If we can determine the best set of
electromagnetic parameters to effectively prevent beta-amyloid
aggregation and remove pre-existing beta amyloid deposits from the
brain, this technology could be quickly translated to human benefit
against AD" said USF's Chuanhai Cao, PhD, the other major study author.
"Since production and aggregation of β-amyloid occurs in traumatic brain
injury, particularly in soldiers during war, the therapeutic impact of
our findings may extend beyond Alzheimer's disease."
The memory test used to evaluate the effects of
cell phone exposure in mice was closely designed from a sensitive test
used to determine if Alzheimer's disease, or its very early signs (mild
cognitive impairment), are present in humans.
"Since we selected electromagnetic parameters that
were identical to human cell phone use and tested mice in a task closely
analogous to a human memory test, we believe our findings could have
considerable relevance to humans," Arendash said.
The researchers found a slight increase in brain
temperature during the two one-hour periods when mice were exposed to
electromagnetic waves each day. This increase in brain temperature was
seen only in the Alzheimer's mice, and only after months of exposure.
The researchers suggest the increase in brain temperature helped the
Alzheimer's brain to remove newly-formed beta-amyloid by causing brain
cells to release it.
The researchers were particularly surprised to
discover that months of cell phone exposure actually boosted the memory
of non-demented (normal mice) to above-normal levels. They suspect that
the main reason for this improvement involves the ability of
electromagnetic exposure to increase brain activity, promoting greater
blood flow and increased energy metabolism in the brain.
"Our study provides evidence that long-term cell
phone use is not harmful to brain," Dr. Cao said. "To the contrary, the
electromagnetic waves emitted by cell phones could actually improve
normal memory and be an effective therapy against memory impairment"
"It will take some time to determine the exact
mechanisms involved in these beneficial memory effects," Arendash said.
"One thing is clear, however - the cognitive benefits of long-term
electromagnetic exposure are real, because we saw them in both
protection- and treatment-based experiments involving Alzheimer's mice,
as well as in normal mice."
Previous human studies of electromagnetic waves
from cell phones involved only brief exposures given to normal humans.
While some studies reported small improvements in attention or memory
(not enough to impact daily life), others reported no memory effects
from short-term exposure.
The new study by Arendash, Cao, and their
colleagues is the first to investigate the effects of long-term
electromagnetic exposure over many months on memory function in either
humans or animals. The findings indicate that "long-term" exposure to
cell phone level electromagnetic waves is needed to observe enhanced
memory in normal or memory-impaired mice.
The USF researchers began investigating the effects
of cell phone use on Alzheimer's disease several years ago, after
several observational studies in humans linked a possible increased risk
of Alzheimer's with "low-frequency" electromagnetic exposure -- like the
energy waves generated by power and telephone lines. However, cell
phones emit "high-frequency" electromagnetic waves, which are very
different because they can have beneficial effects on brain cell
function, such as increasing brain cell activity, Arendash said.
There has been recent controversy about whether
electromagnetic waves from cell phones cause brain cancer. Some
researchers argue that the risk of glioma (40 percent of all brain
tumors) doubles after 10 or more years of cell phone use.
However, others argue that since the overall
lifetime risk of developing a brain tumor of any type is less than 1
percent, any doubling of this risk would still be very low. Groups such
as the World Health Organization, the American Cancer Society, and the
National Institutes of Health, have all concluded that scientific
evidence to date does not support any adverse health effects associated
with the use of cell phones.
Consistent with the view of these organizations,
the researchers found no autopsy evidence of abnormal growth in brains
of the Alzheimer's mice following many months of exposure to cell
phone-level electromagnetic waves. They also found all major peripheral
organs, such as the liver and lungs, to be normal.
About Study
The research was conducted by an interdisciplinary
group of neuroscientists, electrical engineers, and neurologists from
universities in Japan and China as well as from the Florida ADRC at the
University of South Florida. The study was supported by funds from the
Florida ADRC, a statewide project sponsored by the National Institute on
Aging, and the USF Health Byrd Alzheimer's Institute.
Journal citation:
Electromagnetic Field Treatment Protects Against
and Reverses Cognitive Impairment in Alzheimer's Disease Mice. Gary W.
Arendash, Juan Sanchez-Ramos, Takashi Mori, Malgorzata Mamcarz, Xiaoyang
Lin, Melissa Runfeldt, Li Want, Guixin Zhang, Vasyl Sava, Juan Tan and
Chuanhai Cao. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, Volume 19:1 (January
2010).
About USF Health
USF Health (www.health.usf.edu)
is dedicated to creating a model of health care based on understanding
the full spectrum of health. It includes the University of South
Florida's colleges of medicine, nursing, and public health; the schools
of biomedical sciences as well as physical therapy & rehabilitation
sciences; and the USF Physicians Group. With more than $380.4 million in
research grants and contracts last year, the University of South Florida
is one of the nation's top 63 public research universities and one of
only 25 public research universities nationwide with very high research
activity that is designated as community-engaged by the Carnegie
Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
About the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease
The Journal of Alzheimer's Disease (http://www.j-alz.com)
is an international multidisciplinary journal to facilitate progress in
understanding the etiology, pathogenesis, epidemiology, genetics,
behavior, treatment and psychology of Alzheimer's disease. The journal
publishes research reports, reviews, short communications, book reviews,
and letters-to-the-editor. Groundbreaking research that has appeared in
the journal includes novel therapeutic targets, mechanisms of disease
and clinical trial outcomes. The Journal of Alzheimer's Disease has an
Impact Factor of 5.101 according to Thomson Reuters' 2008 Journal
Citation Reports. The Journal is published by IOS Press (http://www.iospress.nl).
