“There
is a strong evidence that EMFs and radio/microwave frequencies are associated
with accelerated aging (enhanced cell death and cancer) and moods, depression,
suicide, anger, rage and violence, primarily through alteration of cellular
calcium ions and the melatonin/serotonin balance.”
~Dr. Neil Cherry of Lincoln University, New Zealand
In the Modern World, when each household in the developed countries possesses multiple electronic devices, like cellular phones, personal computers, and other numerous electronic gadgets, the general public seems to be concerned about the potential health risks of long-term electromagnetic radiation exposure on the human health and well-being.
Research
In 1995, for the first time, the public attention was drawn
to the possible link between electromagnetic radiation and risks of Alzheimer's
disease development, following a landmark publication in the American Journal of Epidemiology by
researchers from the University of Southern California School of Medicine. After
thorough investigation, the researchers confirmed a direct substantial causal relationship
between occupations, exposing individuals to higher levels of electromagnetic
radiation, and the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.
Their report, published in the December 1996 issue of Neurology, revealed a sizeable increased
risk of developing Alzheimer's disease in individuals whose occupations exposed
them to higher than average levels of electromagnetic radiation. The
occupations determined to be "high risk" with respect to exposure
included electrician, machinist, machine operator, seamstress, sewing factory
worker, sheet metal worker, typist, keypunch operator, welder, machine shop
worker, and several others. The danger of developing Alzheimer's disease in
these individuals was calculated to be as much as fourfold higher than the
general population. Subjects evaluated were at least 65 years of age at the
time of their first examination and their recorded occupations reflected what
they had been doing up to 40 years prior to their evaluation and diagnosis of
Alzheimer's disease. It is critical to acknowledge the fact that the data used
in this research reflected levels of electromagnetic exposure long before our
population began using "cell phones," personal computers, and the
like.
Some other following studies supported previous notions that
the risk of Alzheimer ’s disease may be directly linked to exposure to extremely
low frequency magnetic fields (ELF). While the majority of studies has been
done in relation to occupational exposures, the first study on residential
exposures has been conducted in Switzerland suggesting an increased risk of
Alzheimer’s Disease among people living close to high-voltage power lines.
Based on these findings, the European Scientific Committee on Emerging and
Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) has classified ELF magnetic fields an Alzheimer
’s disease as a high priority for further research.
Doctors at the
Institute of Social and Preventative Medicine at Bern University used census
and mortality data from 4.7 million Swiss to investigate all deaths between the
years 2000 and 2005. Using a proportional hazard model, they found that people
who lived within 50 meters of high voltage electricity lines were more likely
to die from Alzheimer's disease and senile dementia. "Whoever lives within
the immediate vicinity of high voltage power lines for more than ten years has
a significantly higher risk of developing dementia or Alzheimer's
disease," said Matthias Egger, the Institute's head.
And, finally, a 2007 meta-analysis of the studies done on
occupational links to Alzheimer’s was conducted by Ana Garcia of the University
of Valencia, Spain. She reported that the combined data from 14 different
occupational studies showed that, in general, being exposed to EMFs on the job
doubled the risk of developing Alzheimer’s.
Mechanism of Action
The general theory
of while Electromagnetic Fields around may influence your body health and
well-being, is more or less clear. Artificial EMFs change the frequency of your
body's electromagnetic fields through a process called entrainment
(or sympathetic resonance). Entrainment is the tendency of an object to vibrate
at the same frequency as something outside of it. In other words, powerful
artificial EMFs overwhelm your body’s own electrical fields, changing their
frequency and distorting the balance of the body's electromagnetic field and
its communication systems. This causes physical, mental and emotional chaos.
The danger doesn’t always pass once you get away from the
strong electromagnetic field. That’s
because biological systems have been proven to store electromagnetic radiation
within the cells in the form of electromagnetic oscillations.
These oscillations can stubbornly remain inside you, wreaking havoc with your
body’s most important processes.
Compounding this
problem, metallic objects all around us act as antennae. These include
electrical circuits, telephone wiring, water and gas pipes, even your keys and
jewelry, which collect and re-radiate these disorienting energy waves.
The highest
frequency energy waves (X-rays, gamma rays and others) can break chemical and
molecular bonds, and can literally rip atoms apart, disrupting the basic
biochemical structures of life. The healthy human body resonates at around 10
hertz. Frequencies above that create biological stress, tissue damage and
serious health problems.
While the potential danger is obvious, the particular effect
of the electromagnetic fields on the body functions in general, and for Alzheimer
’s disease development, in particular, is still pretty much in a dark. Several
authors have indicated that the electromagnetic radiation produced by
electronic equipment enhances the formation of beta amyloid, a protein known to
be prevalent in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. Exactly how electromagnetic
radiation increases beta amyloid is unclear, but it is obvious that this
protein enhances brain inflammation, now known to be the primary cause of brain
degeneration in this disease.
In one of the recently published papers, the researchers from
Alzheimer's disease Treatment and Diagnostic Center at Rancho Los Amigos
Medical Center in Downey, suggested that increased exposure could change the
balance of calcium in some cells in the body causing increased production of a beta
amyloid . This protein is secreted from cells into the bloodstream.
Controversial Results
The latest 2010 study led by University of South Florida
researchers and published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, has provided absolutely unexpected, surprising
outcomes, conflicting with the previous results.
“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 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.
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”
Summary
Perhaps because influences like electromagnetic radiation
and toxic chemicals in the environment cannot be seen or perceived, there was
always certain reluctance by mainstream medicine to recognize potential health
risks associated with these factors. And the latest studies supported the critics’
viewpoint that the data is still inconclusive.
The additional research is needed to confirm and validate
the outcomes of linking Alzheimer’s risk to the environmental and household
exposure to the electromagnetic fields with further elaboration on the
frequency and magnitude of the levels, dangerous for the health.
Sources and Additional
Information:
