For several years now, we've been warned of the possible dangers of cell phone use. In fact, a lawmaker in Maine wants to make her state the first to require cell phones to carry warnings that they can cause brain cancer. And San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom wants his city to be the nation's first to require warnings.
But -- if you will -- hold the phone for a moment. A new study in mice led by University of South Florida researchers at the Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC) provides evidence that long-term exposure to electromagnetic waves associated with cell phone use may actually protect against, and even reverse, 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."
Regarding the risk of brain cancer that some researchers believe is posed by prolonged cell phone use, Arendash told ConsumerAffairs.com that the Interphone Study, which was initiated several years ago by the World Health Organization (WHO), goes a long way toward allaying such concerns.
Arendash says many of the countries that took party in that study have said independently they have found "absolutely no effects on brain cancer."
He says the claim that longer-term cell phone use doubles the risk of brain cancer needs to be put into perspective. According to Arendash, the risk of brain cancer normally is "1 in 200, so a doubling the risk is 1 in 100. That is still at or below one percent. That is still a minimal risk, even if they are correct, which I don't believe they are."
According to the study, results of which are published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, 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.
Sticky plaques
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 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.
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 were 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.
