Mobile phone use may prevent and reverse Alzheimer’s disease
14 January 2010
A study with mice has provided the first evidence that
long-term exposure to electromagnetic waves associated with mobile 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, 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 mobile 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 and 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.
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.

Mice being exposed to electromagnetic radiation
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 tumours) doubles after 10 or
more years of cell phone use.
However, others argue that since the overall lifetime risk of
developing a brain tumour 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.
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 studies were supported by funds from
the Florida ADRC, a statewide project sponsored by the National
Institute on Aging.