Cell phones: A new study could revive the debate on the risks

Written by Sandeep Nehra

A study showing an impact of mobile phones on the metabolism of a region of the brain could revive the controversy over the risks posed to health the frequent use of these devices.

The explosion in the use of phones in the world raises concerns about the potential dangers of electromagnetic waves at radio frequencies emitted by these phones.

The carcinogenic potential of these waves is the biggest fear, are the authors of the statement issued on Tuesday.

However, epidemiological studies showing a link between use of these phones and frequency of brain tumors have not been conclusive so far.

The question remains open, according to the researchers behind the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) dated February 23 and published on Tuesday.

Their research shows that using 50 minutes of laptop increases glucose metabolism in a brain region located at the ear and then near the phone antenna.

But the consequences of this physiological effect on health are still unknown, they said.

Dr. Nora Volkow, a researcher with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and his team conducted the study in 2009 involving 47 people to examine the effects of mobile phones on brain activity in a given area of the brain.

Phones were placed in turn on their right ear and left while their brain was observed by a positron tomographic camera.

They also had twice received an injection of fluodésoxyglucose to measure glucose metabolism in the brain, once with the laptop on – without sound – for 50 minutes and then with the phone off.

The researchers then tested the link between the activity of glucose metabolism and the magnitude of the estimated frequency electromagnetic signals emitted by the phone.

After that, the images were compared to assess the effects of mobile phone use on glucose metabolism in the brain, an important marker of brain activity.

They did not find any variation of this metabolism throughout the brain. But they were able to measure significant differences in the brain area located near the antenna of the phone on, where glucose metabolism was about 7% higher compared to the period during which the phone was off.

The brain regions involved are the orbitofrontal cortex and temporal pole.

“These increases were closely related to different estimated magnitudes of the electromagnetic field,” write the authors.

In other words, “brain areas absorbing more of these waves from the laptop showed the greatest increases in glucose metabolism.

“These results show that the metabolism of the human brain is sensitive to the effects of magnetic waves lasting if exposed to these phones,” write the researchers can not explain why.

According to them, “more research is needed to determine whether these waves could be potentially harmful to human health over the long term,” they say.

This study provides additional information on possible effects of these electromagnetic waves emitted by mobile phones on the activity of the hoop, “writes Dr. Henry Lai of the University of Washington at Seattle (Northwest) in an editorial accompanying the study and also published in JAMA.

“These results warrant further study,” said he.

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